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^rjth^aUflia  Canrbrfnsis, 


JOURNAL 


Ciiralmiin  lrr|italDgirnl  l00Driatinn. 


!  , 


VOL.   V.     FIFTH    SERIES. 


LONDON: 

PICKERING  AND  CHATTO,  66,  HATMAEKET,  S.W. 

1888. 


LOXBOK : 

wHiTiiro  kvn  CO.,  SO  axd  32,  babbikia  ■tbbxt,  w.c. 


* 
t 


CONTENTS. 


PAOB 


Hospital  of  the  Blessed  David,  St.  Mary 

Street,  Swansea  .  .     J.  B.  Wilson        .         1 

Parish  Records     ....     Rev.  B.  Owen      .       11 

Ancient  British  Hat-Dwellings  near  Bala, 

Merionethshire  Rev.  G.  H.  Drinkwater      26 

Emral  in  Maelor  Saesneg,  Flintshire  Rev.  Canon  Lee         29 

Llyfr  Silin  yn  Cynnwys  achau  amryw 
Denlnoedd  yn  Ngwynedd,  Powys,  etc. 
(^continvsd)         .  .  .  .  .      •     .  .       42 

Account  of  the  Opening  of  a  Barrow  in 
the  Parish  of  Colwinston,  Glamorgan- 
shire     .  .  .     F.  G.  H.  Price    .       83 

Denbigh  Castle      ....     Major  LI.  Williams     94 

Notes  from  the  Registers  of  Erbi stock, 

Denbigh  and  Flintshire  .A.N.  Palmer  101 

Llyfr  Silin  yn  Cynnwys  achan  amryw 
Denlnoedd  yn  Ngwynedd,  Powys,  etc. 
(continued)         .  .  .  .  .  .105 

Notes  on  the  Older  Churches  in  the  Four 

Welsh  Dioceses  (contiyiuecl).  The  late  SirS.  R..  Glynne,  Bart.     122 

On  a  Coin  of  a  Second  Carausius,  Cassar 
,  in  Britain  in  the  Fifth  Century 

Notes  on  a  Roman  Steelyard  and  other 
Objects  found  at  Stretton  Grandison, 
Herefordshire     .... 

Notes  to  the  Account  of  Cwmhir  Abbey, 
Radnorshire       .... 

On  some  MediaBval  Military  Defences 


A.  J.  Evans 

.  138 

J.  R.  Allen 

.  187 

R.  W.  Banks 

.  204 

J.  R.  Cobb 

.  218 

IV  CONTENTS. 


PAOX 


John  Lloyd's  Note-Book,  1637-1651          .  A.  N.  Palmer       .     225 

&0W  Charches  were  Built  in  the  Eight- 
eenth Century                .  Rev.  B.  Owen      .     235 

Emral  and  its  Occupants  Rev.  Canon  Lee       275 

Reports  on  Llanio  and  on  Church  Restora- 
tion       .             .             .             .             .  J.W.Willis-Bund     297 

John  Lloyd'3  Note-Book,  1637-1651  {con- 
tinued)               .             .             .             .  A.  N.  Palmer      .     320 

Llyfr   Silin  yn   Cynnwys  achau   amryw 
Deuluoedd  yn  Ngwynedd,  Powys,  etc. 

(continusd)        .             .             .             .  .           .           .331 

Roman  Roads  in  English  Maelor               .  Rev.  Canon  Lee       345 

Report  of  Annual  Meeting  at  Cowbridge  .                       .371 

Subscribers  to  Local  Fund  and  Statement  of  Accounts  433 

Index       ........     435 

Illustrations,  List  of       .             .             .  .             ...     438 


Obituaet  ......         57, 164 

Reviews  and  Notices  of  Books  .  .     68,  179,  248,  359 

Arcosoloqical  Notes  and  Queries       .  .     57,  166,  257,  368 


'^nhnulam  €nmktmh. 


FIFTH  SERIES.—  VOL.  V,  NO.  XVII. 


JANUARY  1888. 


HOSPITAL  OF  THE  BLESSED  DAVID, 
St.  MARY  STREET,  SWANSEA. 

BT  J.  BUCKLET  WILSON,  ESQ.,  A.B.I. B.A. 

[Btad  at  Swansea,  2fUh  August  1886.) 

I  HAVE  much  pleasure  in  showing  you  the  remains  of 
that  which  once  formed  the  Hospital  of  the  Blessed 
David.  A  copy  of  the  charter  of  the  foundation  and 
endowment  of  the  Hospital  by  Henry  de  Gower,  Bishop 
of  St.  David's  in  1 332,  may  be  seen  at  the  Royal  Insti- 
tution, Swansea,  and  is  well  worthy  of  the  most  care- 
ful perusal.  But  while  you  are  here  I  wish  specially  to 
point  out  what  constituted  part  or  parts  of  the  Hospi- 
tal, and  to  convince  you  that  these  are  undoubtedly 
their  remains.  I  will  quote  a  paragraph  from  a  paper 
read  at  the  Royal  Institution  bv  the  late  Colonel  Grant 
Francis,  F.S.A.,  in  which  he  begins  by  saying ''that 
Mr.  Dillwyn  mentions  a  tradition  that  the  Hospital 
had  a  frontage  in  Butler  Street,  otherwise  St.  Mary 
Street ;  and  the  words  of  the  foundation-charter  posi- 
tively confirm  this.''  He  adds,  *'  and  I  believe  I  have 
discovered  the  very  site  in  the  present  Cross  Keys 
public  house. 

'*  Riding  one  day  into  the  Castle  Inn  yard  from  Cross 
Street,  I  observed  a  gable  of  some  old  premises,  and 
the  outlines  of  arches,  which  struck  me  as  similar  in 

5th  sxb.,  vol.  y.  1 


2  HOSPITAL  OF  THE  BLESSED  DAVID, 

character  to  those  in  Swansea  Castle ;  but  being  walled 
up  and  thickly  coated  with  white  lime,  a  mason  was 
employed  to  ascertain  whether  my  impression  was  cor- 
rect. On  being  cleared  out  we  found  in  a  very  old  and 
thick  wall  of  native  rubble-work,  one  double  and  one 
single  trifoliated  arch  of  the  early  part  of  the  four- 
teenth century,  of  the  same  form  and  Sutton  stone  as 
some  of  those  inserted  by  De  Gower  beneath  the  para- 
pets of  Swansea  Castle." 

Possibly  many  here  will  remember  these  words  actu- 
ally delivered.  Now,  in  my  opinion,  the  fourteenth 
century  windows  peculiar  to  De  Gower  are  those  of  the 
injirmonum,  or  sick  chamber. 


In  front,  facing  St.  Mary  Street,  and  running  hori- 
zontally, east  and  west,  was,  I  beUeve,  the  Hospital 
chapel.  The  charter  relates  that  "the  said  master  or 
warden  of  the  said  Hospital,  and  the  chaplains  for  the 
time  being,  and  the  other  poor  persons  dwelling  therein. 


ST.  MART  STREET,  SWANSEA.  3 

as  aforesaid,  do  celebrate  (services)  for  the  soul  of  our 
late  Lord  David,  Bishop  of  St.  David  s,"  etc. 

Upon  examining  the  roof  of  this  infirmorium^  and 
removing  a  plaster-partition  gaudily  papered,  I  have 
discovered  some  early  fourteenth  century  oak  princi- 
pals. They  have  the  simple  chamfer,  the  flat  purlins, 
and  notched  ridge,  the  shoulders  of  collars  being  ten- 
oned and  secured  by  as  many  as  four  oak  pins.  The 
workmanship  is  rough,  as  all  carpentry  was  at  that 
period. 

The  part  I  believe  to  be  the  chapel  has  a  similarly- 
constructed  roof;  but  the  principals  are  not  in  such 
good  order,  the  reason  being  that  it  is  floored  so  high 
that  there  is  hardly  sufficient  room  for  headway  under 
the  collars  ;  consequently  they  have  been  cut  away  or 
scooped  out,  this  room  being  used  for  a  sleeping  com- 
partment in  a  common  lodging-house. 

The  work  has  been  much  mutilated^  but  after  taking 
away  the  present  floor,  to  any  one  standing  upon  the 
original  floor,  the  proportion  and  simplicity  of  the  de- 
sign of  the  roof,  together  with  the  massive  masonry 
and  deeply  recessed  windows,  would  have  an  appear- 
ance of  grandeur  and  solidity. 

The  main  buildings  comprised  in  the  plan  of  the 
Hospital  of  the  Blessed  David  appear  to  have  been  an 
irregular  quadrangle  enclosing  two  garths,  a  brewhouse 
and  kitchen,  with  domestic  offices.  Of  the  two  garths, 
one  was  probably  used  as  a  kitchen  or  herb-garden  for 
the  laity;  the  other  was  set  apart  for  the  priests.  The 
old  fig-tree  at  present  in  the  garden  is  most  likely  a 
scion  of  an  older  one,  although  these  trees  often  attain 
a  great  age. 

As  I  have  said,  the  southern  side  of  the  present 
buildings  appears  to  be  occupied  by  the  chapel  and 
infirmorium  already  described,  with  offices  under.  At 
the  south-west  corner  would  most  likely  be  the  war- 
den's and  priests'  lodgings ;  and  in  the  building  beyond, 
on  the  west  side,  I  should  place  the  refectory,  it  evi- 
dently having  been  open  to  the  roof,  a  portion  of  which 


4  HOSPITAL  OF  THE  BLESSED  DAVID, 

is  Btill  existing,  aa  in  the  other  portion  of  the  buildings. 
Under  this,  probably,  would  be  the  calefactory  or  gene- 
ral meeting  room  for  talk,  etc.  To  the  northern  side 
would  be  the  kitchen.  The  brewhouse  still  retains 
traceB  of  the  flue.  One  of  the  fluea  (approximately  the 
kitchen)  is  lined  with  flat  stones.  These  are  easily 
seen.  A  portion  of  a  square  shaft,  having  every  appear- 
ance of  a  hoist,  still  remains. 


I  have  traced  now,  with  you,  the  undoubted  outline 
of  this  very  important  semi-monastic  establishment.  I 
hope,  if  enabled  to  cootinue  my  researches,  to  trace  the 
remains  of  still  further  buildings.  There  would  appear 
to  have  been  an  entrance  from  the  west  side  to  the 
large  garth  ;  and  near  this  is  an  aperture  in  the  wall, 
which  might  be  the  buttery  or  serving  window  for 
giving  out  the  doles,  etc. 
When  Bishop  Henry  de  Gower  built  the  Hospital,  in 


ST.  MARY  STREET,  SWANSEA*  5 

1330,  his  vast  diocese  consisted  of  no  less  than  502 
parishes.  This  institution  was  one  of  great  importance, 
the  warden  possessing  considerable  power  and  authority. 
Early  in  the  fourteenth  century  Bishop  Henry  deGower 
appears  to  have  settled  two-thirds  of  the  tithes  of  this 
parish  on  the  Hospital  of  David,  leaving  only  one- third 
for  the  vicar.  In  1379  the  parish  of  Oystermouth,  with 
all  its  rights  and  appurtenances,  was  appropriated  to 
the  Hospital  by  Bishop  Houghton,  who  was  the  fourth 
Bishop  of  the  see  in  succession  from  De  Gower.  There 
were  five  wardens,  the  first  being  John  de  Acum,  in  the 
year  1334;  the  last,  Richard  Rawlins,  in  1545. 

It  was  dissolved  in  the  first  year  of  Edward  VI, 
and  granted  to  Sir  George  Herbert. 

I  must  ask  your  pardon  for  having  taken  up  so  much 
of  your  valuable  time  in  describing  the  position  and 
details  of  the  present  remains,  and  saying  so  little  rela- 
tive to  its  foundation,  charters,  clerical  and  lay  bene- 
factors; but  this  history  you  can  read  at  the  Royal 
Institution,  in  the  works  of  the  late  Lewis  Weston 
Dillwyn  and  Colonel  George  Grant  Francis,  gentlemen 
by  whose  means  and  antiquarian  knowledge  many  a 
Swansea  relic  has  been  preserved  as  a  treasure  to  our 
town.  The  time  may  be  at  hand  when  street  improve- 
ments will  rapidly  obliterate  these  few  decayed  walls 
and  old  oak  timbers  ;  but  I  trust  the  hand  that  touches 
them  will  be  careful  to  preserve  as  much  as  possible. 
They  are  but  a  small  legacy  from  the  good  and  great 
Bishop  Henry  de  Gower. 

I. — Charter  of  Foimdation  and  Endowment  of  the  Hojspital  of 
Swansea  by  Henry  de  Gower,  Bishop  of  St.  David's.  A.D. 
1332.    (Harl.  MS.  1249,  fol.  204.) 

"  In  the  name  of  the  most  glorious  and  undivided  Trinity  of 
the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  Amen,  We, 
Henry  de  Gower,  by  divine  permission  Bishop  of  St.  David's, 
(l),  confiding  in  the  goodness  of  the  Supreme  Creator  of  (all) 
things,  and  (Giver  of  all)  blessings,  and  on  the  grace  of  the 
same,  who  directs  and  disposes  of  the  vows  of  departed  men 
according  to  his  own  will :  feeling  truly,  after  the  example  of 


6  HOSPITAL  OF  THE   BLESSED  DAVID 

the  Samaritan  who  mercifully  bound  up  the  wounds  of  the  half- 
dead  (man)  who  fell  among  thieves,  that  such  an  one  is  to  be 
relieved  and  succoured  chiefly  by  works  of  piety ;  which  thing 
certain  Catholic  Bishops  and  other  faithful  servants  of  Christ, 
considering  with  pious  devotion,  have  in  various  parts  of  the 
world,  out  of  their  own  estates  and  possessions,  resolved  to  erect 
holy  places  to  be  for  ever  set  apart  for  the  maintenance  of  those 
celebrating  divine  rites,  and  of  the  poor,  whose  wholesome  dis- 
positions, of  very  truth,  divinely  inspired.  We  are,  as  it  becomes 
us,  desirous,  with  the  utmost  solicitude,  to  embrace  and  stead- 
fastly follow.  Lest  priests,  blind,  decrepid,  or  infirm,  and  other 
poor  men,  in  the  bishoprick  of  St.  David's  be  at  any  time  desti- 
tute of  food,  and  begging,  to  the  scandal  of  the  clergy  and  of  the 
Church,  We  do,  with  the  consent  of  our  Lord  the  King  of  Eng- 
land, and  of  the  Lord  of  the  place,  out  of  the  lands  and  posses- 
sion of  our  patrimony  in  Sweynes',  and  of  others  acquired,  for 
the  safety  of  our  soul  (and  of  the  souls  of)  our  predecessors  and 
progenitors,  found  a  certain  Hospital  to  the  honour  of  the  Blessed 
David,  Archbishop  and  Confessor,  our  Patron,  for  the  support 
of  six  chaplains  (six  after  the  number  six,  which  is  a  perfect 
numeral)  for  the  celebration  of  divine  services  in  the  said  hos- 
pital every  day  for  ever,  on  behalf  of  the  undermentioned  living 
and  deceased  persons,  and  for  the  support  of  other  poor  chap- 
lains and  laymen  deprived  of  bodily  health,  to  be  maintained  in 
the  said  Hospital  in  Sweynes'  aforesaid,  on  the  lands,  tene- 
ments, and  revenues  undermentioned.  First,  we  give  in  per- 
petual and  pure  alms,  and  to  the  said  Hospital  assign,  a  tene- 
ment for  the  dwelling  of  the  Master  and  Chaplains,  near  to  the 
church  of  the  Blessed  Mary  of  Sweynes*  aforesaid.  Also  thir- 
teen burgages,  whereof  one  was  Robert  Jordan's,  beside  the 
tenement  which  was  formerly  Master  Walter  de  Penderton's, 
heretofore  rector  of  the  church  of  Sweynes'  aforesaid ;  and 
another  burgage  which  lies  beside  the  tenement  of  Eobert  de 
Weston;  and  the  half  burgage  which  formerly  belonged  to 
Thomas  Mareschall,  and  which  lies  contiguous  to  the  tenement 
of  Robert  de  Weston  ;  and  the  half  burgage  which  is  situate  in 
Fisher  Street,  beside  the  curtilage  of  John  de  Soper ;  and  two 
burgages  towards  Tawey,  which  formerly  belonged  to  Isabella 
of  Neath ;  and  one  burgage  which  lies  outside  the  gate  of 
Harold,  which  belonged  to  the  said  Isabella ;  also  one  burgage 
formerly  of  John  Harold,  without  Harold's  Gate ;  likewise  one 
burgage  which  was  Peter  de  la  Bere's,  and  which  lies  without 
the  aforesaid  gate ;  and  one  burgage  which  was  Henry  Jordan's, 
and  which  lies  vrithout  the  wall  of  Sweynes'  aforesaid  ;  and  one 
burgage  which  was  of  our  patrimony  aforesaid,  towards  Tawey  ; 


ST.  MARY  STREET,  SWANSEA.  7 

and  the  half  burgage  which  was  John  Batyn's,  and  which  lies 
between  the  curtilage  beside  the  wall  of  Sweynes'  aforesaid; 
and  the  half  burgage  which  was  Thomas  Dobjm's,  without  Ha- 
rold's Gate ;  and  eleven  curtilages  lying  between  the  tenement 
which  was  formerly  John  Harold's,  without  Harold's  Gate, 
on  the  south  side ;  and  two  acres  of  William  de  Lock's  on 
the  north  side,  and  abutting  the  walls  of  Sweynes'  aforesaid, 
at  one  end  towards  the  east,  and  the  other  end  towards  the 
King's  highroad,  towards  the  west,  which  contain  three  acres  of 
lands,  and  thirty-two  acres  of  arable  land,  with  two  wears  in 
Sweynes'  aforesaid,  which  were  of  our  said  patrimony,  Walter 
de  Pederton's,  Thomas  Perkyn's,  Thomas  de  Sweynes',  and  Eobert 
Jordan's ;  also  one  messuage,  one  curtilage,  with  a  garden  and 
ten  acres  of  arable  land,  which  were  Eobert  de  Weston's,  in 
Penard ;  and  two  messuages,  sixty  acres  of  arable  land,  eight 
acres  of  mountain  meadow,  twelve  acres  of  coppice  and  moor, 
together  with  the  half  of  one  water-mill  in  the  east,  in  the 
parish  of  Sweynes'  aforesaid,  which  were  the  said  Eobert  de 
Weston's  and  Thomas  Perkyn's ;  and  one  messuage,  fifty-eight 
acres  of  arable  land,  with  eight  acres  of  coppice,  at  Kylnorth, 
which  were  of  our  said  patrimony  in  the  manor  of  Pennard ; 
and  twenty  acres  of  arable  land  at  the  Cowyke,  in  the  manor 
and  parish  of  Sweynes',  which  were  the  said  Eobert  de  Weston's; 
and  sixty  acres  of  arable  land,  thirty  acres  of  mountain  meadow, 
forty  Welsh  acres  of  waste  land,  which  were  Peter  de  la  Bere's 
and  Thomas  his  son's,  in  Pennilar  and  in  the  pariah  of  Llan- 
gefelach,  with  all  the  rights  and  liberties  which  our  Lord  the 
King  and  the  Lord  of  Gower,  by  the  charters  to  us  thenceforth 
made,  for  themselves  and  their  heirs,  have  granted  and  for  ever 
confirmed  in  favour  and  aid  of  the  said  Hospital,  and  of  those 
dwelling  in  the  same,  at  our  instance  and  suit. 

"  Collation,  moreover,  of  the  said  mastership  and  deputy  mas- 
tership, when  the  same  shall  become  vacant,  being  reserved  to 
us  and  to  the  bishop  for  the  time  being,  our  successors,  or  to  the 
chapter  of  our  church  of  St  David's,  the  episcopal  see  being 
vacant.  We  will  also  and  by  these  presents  appoint  that  the 
said  master  or  warden  of  the  said  Hospital  and  the  chaplains 
for  the  time  being,  and  the  other  poor  persons  dwelling  therein, 
as  aforesaid,  do  celebrate  (services)  for  the  soul  of  our  late  Lord 
David,  Bishop  of  St.  David's,  and  of  others  our  predecessors,  and 
for  our  welfare  and  for  that  of  our  successors,  whilst  we  shall 
survive,  and  for  our  souls  when  we  shall  have  departed  from 
out  this  life  ;  also  for  the  welfare  of  our  Lord  Edward,  by  the 
grace  of  God  King  of  England,  and  of  our  Lady  his  Queen  Con- 
sort, also  for  the  souls  of  his  progenitors ;  for  the  Lord  John  de 


8  HOSPITAL  OF  THE   BLESSED  DAVID, 

Mowbray,  Lord  of  Gower,  and  for  the  soul  of  Lady  Alios,  his 
mother,  and  of  others,  their  progenitors ;  for  the  Lord  John  de 
Bohun,  Earl  of  Hereford,  his  brothers,  and  predecessors ;  for  the 
Lord  Robert  de  Penrys,  Richard  de  Penrys,  their  children  and 
progenitors ;  for  Eobert  de  Weston  and  Lacy  his  consort,  and  their 
progenitors  ;  for  Eobert,  son  of  Nicholas  Martyii ;  for  Peter  de 
la  Bere,  Agnes  his  wife,  Thomas  de  la  Bere,  their  son,  and  their 
other  children ;  and  for  all  other  benefactors  of  the  said  Hospi- 
tal who  in  the  foundation,  construction,  and  support  of  the 
same  Hospital,  and  of  those  dwelling  therein,  have  laid  helping 
hands ;  and  that  in  their  masses  and  suffrages  of  devotion  they 
shall  specially  pray  and  fervently  commend  the  same  to  God 
whilst  they  shall  have  dwelt  in  the  said  Hospital,  or  shall  have 
been  supported  of  the  funds  thereof,  in  future  times  for  ever  ; 
and  in  like  form  and  devotion,  for  the  souls  of  Galfridus  Don 
and  Isabella  of  Keath,  his  sister ;  and  for  the  souls  of  all  the 
faithful  departed  do  in  fit  manner  continually  implore  the  mercy 
of  our  Eedeemer. 

"  In  testimony  of  all  which  aforesaid  matters,  our  seal,  toge- 
ther with  the  common  seal  of  the  Chapter  of  St.  David'a,  and  of 
the  said  Hospital  of  the  Blessed  David  of  SweyDes',are  to  these 
presents  appended. 

"  Witness  these  noble  persons :  the  Lord  John  de  Bohun,  Earl 
of  Hereford  ;  the  Lord  John  de  Mowbray,  Lord  of  Gower,  Ed- 
ward de  Bohun,  Barons ;  Eobert  de  Penrys,  John  de  Longeton, 
Knights ;  Kichard  Wolfe,  Richard  de  Penrys,  Robert  de  Weston, 
Peter  de  la  Bere,  John  de  Mare,  and  others. 

"  Given  at  Sweynes',  the  kalends  of  August  in  the  thirteen 
hundred  and  thirty-second  year  of  our  Lord,  in  the  sixth  year 
of  the  reign  of  King  Edward  the  third  after  the  Conquest,  and 
fifth  year  of  our  consecration." 


ST.  MARY  STREET,  SWANSEA. 


II. — Charter  of  the  Master  and  Chaplains  of  the  Hospital  of 
St.  David  at  Swansea,  to  found  a  Chantry  for  the  Souls 
of  the  Earl  of  Hereford  and  his  Eelatives.  Dated  a.d. 
1334,  Mu.  Due.  of  Lane.     (1.) 

"  To  all  the  faithful  in  Christ  to  whom  these  present  letters 
shall  come,  John  de  Acum,  Master  of  the  Hospital  of  the  Blessed 
David  of  Sweynese,  in  the  diocese  of  St.  David,  and  the  Chap- 
lains of  the  same  place  therein  celebrating  divine  observances, 
eternal  salvation  in  the  Lord. 

"  Know  ye  that  we,  with  the  unanimous  assent  and  consent, 
license  and  authority  of  the  venerable  Father  in  Christ  our  Lord 
Henry,  by  the  grace  of  God  Bishop  of  St.  David's,  Founder  of 
our  said  House,  and  Diocesan  of  the  same,  do  grant,  and  by 
these  presents  are  held  bound,  to  the  noble  Lrrd  John  de  Bohun, 
Earl  of  Hereford,  to  found  one  chantry  for  the  Earl  himself,  his 
progenitors,  and  of  those  near  of  kin,  in  the  chapel  of  the  said 
Hospital,  by  one  fit  chaplain  of  our  choir  to  be  celebrated  for 
ever.  To  the  which  chantry  to  the  said  Earl  and  his  kinsfolk 
aforenamed,  for  the  period  of  their  lives,  and  for  their  souls 
when  they  shall  have  departed  hence,  and  for  the  souls  of  all 
the  faithful  deceased  in  the  said  Hospital,  faithfully,  as  afore- 
said, to  be  made,  we  bind  ourselves  and  our  successors  to  the 
compulsion  and  correction  of  the  aforesaid  Lord  Bishop  of  St 
David's  and  his  successors  for  the  time  being,  as  often  as  and 
whensoever  we  or  our  successors  in  the  said  Hospital,  without 
lawful  hindrance,  shall  cease  or  leave  off  the  chantry  before- 
named. 

"  In  testimony  whereof  I,  John  de  Acom*  aforesaid,  have  put 
to  these  presents  my  seal ;  and  because  my  seal  is  imknown  to 
many,  I  have  procured  the  seal  of  the  Lord  Bishop  of  St.  David's 
to  be  affixed  to  these  presents ;  and  we,  Henry  Bishop  of  St. 
David's  aforesaid,  at  the  urgent  and  personal  request  of  the  said 
Sir  John  de  Acom',  Master  of  the  said  Hospitel  house  before 
mentioned,  and  of  the  chaplains,  his  companions  aforesaid,  have 
caused  our  seal  to  be  af&xed  to  these  presents  in  testimony  of 
the  aforesaid. 

"  Given  at  Sweynes'  the  twelfth  day  of  September  in  the  thir- 
teen hundred  and  thirty-fourth  year  of  our  Lord." 

L.  S.  L«  S* 

I.  de  Acom'.  H.  de  Gower. 


1 0  HOSPITAL  OF  THE  BLESSED  DAVJD,  ETC. 


III. — Charter  of  Appropriation  of  the  Church  of  Oystermouth 
to  the  Hospital  at  Swansea  by  Adam  Houghton,  Bishop 
of  St.  David's,  a.d.  1379.    (Harl.  MS.  1249,  fol.  161.) 

"Adam,  by  divine  permission  Bishop  of  St.*  David's,  and  the 
Chapter  of  the  same  place,  to  all  the  faithful  servants  of  Christ 
salvation  and  perpetual  remembrance  of  the  subject  matter. 
Whereas  the  Lord  Henry  de  Gower  (of  happy  memory  with  pos- 
terity), formerly  Bishop  of  St.  David's,  with  sincere  and  highly 
laudable  devotion  hath  honourably  founded  a  certain  Hospital 
in  the  town  of  Sweynesey,  in  the  said  diocese  of  St.  David's,  and 
other  spiritual  and  temporal  revenues  for  the  support  of  a  cer- 
tain warden,  chaplains,  and  poor  and  infirm  persons  dwelling 
therein,  hatli  legally  and  happily  added,  the  which  (since  the 
first  foundation  of  the  said  Hospital)  are,  by  the  changes  of 
the  times,  much  diminished,  and  evidently  insufficient 'for  the 
wants  of  those  now  dwelling  therein; — ^We,  duly  considering 
the  very  numerous  benefits  and  works  of  piety  conferred  on  the 
said  Church  of  St.  David,  the  Bishops,  his  successors,  and  the 
other  ministers  thereof,  [both]  whilst  the  Spouse  survived  and 
dwelt  among  men,  and  also  after  the  decease  of  the  said  Father, 
which  out  of  his  estate  he  lastingly  conferred  (we  well  consider- 
ing the  whole  matter),  do  appropriate  the  parish  Church  of 
Oystermouth  in  the  said  diocese,  of  which  the  Warden  of  the 
said  Hospital  is  now  patron,  to  the  support  of  the  said  Warden, 
chaplains,  poof  and  infirm  persons  dwelling  therein ;  and  that 
both  the  number  of  the  faithful,  and  that  divine  worship  may 
be  therein  extended  (because  of  the  evident  utility  and  the 
urgent  necessity  of  the  case),  We  do,  with  the  consent  of  the 
Chapter,  hereby  annex  and  unite  the  same,  with  all  its  rights 
and  purtenances,  to  be  possessed  for  ever. 

"  Giving  and  granting  to  the  said  Warden  free  and  full  power 
of  entering  and  taking  possession  of  the  Church  of  Oystermouth 
now  vacant,  of  our  authority,  or  obtained  (of  others). 

"And  for  the  indemnity  of  our  Church  of  St.  David  and  of  the 
Archdeacon  of  Kermerdyn,  in  whose  archdeaconry  the  said 
Church  of  Oystermouth  is  situated,  we  direct  that  the  fabric  of 
our  Church  of  St.  David  shall  receive  annually  two  shillings  on 
the  feast  of  St.  James ;  and  that  the  said  Archdeacon,  for  the 
time  being,  shall  have  each  year,  on  the  same  festival,  ten  pence 
from  the  Warden  of  the  said  Hospital,  both  as  an  indemnity  to 
our  Church  and  himself  as  aforesaid. 

"  Given  at  the  Chapter  House  of  our  Church  of  St.  David  the 


PARISH  RECORDS.  11 

eleventh  day  of  March  in  the  thirteen  hundred  and  seventy- 
ninth  year  of  our  Lord,  and  of  our  consecration  the  eighteenth. 
In  witness  of  which  things  we,  Adam,  Bishop,  and  the  Chapter 
aforesaid,  have  caused  our  seals  to  be  aflBxed  to  these  presents." 


PARISH    RECORDS. 

BT     THE     BEY.     ELIAS     OWEN,     H.A. 

(JUad  at  Denbigh^  August  1887.) 

In  the  old  oak  chests  preserved  in  our  parish  churches 
are  deposited  Registers,  churchwardens'  accounts, vestry 
minutes,  brief  receipts,  terriers,  and  other  documents 
of  a  miscellaneous  kind,  all  of  which  are  well  worthy 
of  careful  perusal,  as  they  throw  considerable  light  on 
social  and  other  matters  connected  with  the  parishes. 

The  oldest  documents  in  these  chests  are  the  regis- 
ters of  marriages,  baptisms,  and  funerals.  These  are 
often  written  on  vellum;  an'd  the  writing  is  usually 
legible,  and  easily  deciphered.  The  entries  in  these 
Registers,  in  the  sixteenth  century  and  the  early  part  of 
the  seventeenth  are  in  Latin,  but  after  this  date  Eng- 
lish is  used  ;  but  there  is  no  rule  for  language  strictly 
adhered  to,  as  even  in  the  sixteenth  century  English 
is  sometimes  used,  whilst  occasionally  Latin  is  met  with 
even  in  thQ  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

The  entries  in  these  Registers  are  mixed — marriages, 
deaths,  and  baptisms  following  each  other  in  the  order 
they  occurred ;  and  the  entries  are  short,  and  hardly 
sufficient,  in  all  instances,  to  identify  the  parties  refer- 
red to.  But  when  they  were  made,  this  would  not  be 
the  case.  Thus  it  would  require  special  aptitude  for 
tracing  genealogies  ere  such  entries  as  the  following 
could  be  made  available,  particularly  when  it  is  borne 
in  mind  that  like  names  were  common  in  the  parish  : 

"  1598.  Item.  Moris  ap  EoVt  was  buried  the  Gth  day  of 
March  the  year  above  written." 


12  PARISH   RECORDS. 

This  entry  is  an  extract  from  Cerrig  y  drudion  Ee- 
gister. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  dwell  at  any  length  on 
parish  Registers ;  but  I  may  say  that  I  have  noticed 
that  during  the  Commonwealth  there  is  often  a  break 
in  these  Registers,  and  they  are  not  then,  for  some 
cause  or  other,  kept.  This  remark,  however,  is  not  of 
universal  application,  for  in  some  parishes  the  Regis- 
ters were  carefully  kept  during  the  period  referred  to. 
An  instance  of  interruption  or  cessation,  during  the 
days  of  Cromwell,  occurs  in  Llanycil  Register.  Thus 
there  are  only  two  entries  from  1649  to  1660  in  that 
Register,  and  these  are  marriages.  They  are  as  follows : 

"  Thomas  Lloyd  of  the  pish  of  lianvihangel  and  Catharine 
Edwards  of  this  pish  were  married  the  last  day  of  August  1655 
before  John  Vaughan  Esquier  one  of  the  iustices  of  the  peace 
for  the  countie  of  Merionith.'* 

And  the  next  entry  is  : 

*'  John  Jones  Llanyckill  min<^  of  the  Gospell  and  Elizabeth 
Davies  of  Llanvair  Diflfrin  Clwyd  were  married  the  28***  day  of 
July  1659/' 

The  first  extract  is  interesting  as  indicating  how 
marriages  were  performed  in  the  time  of  the  Common- 
wealth. In  those  days  banns  of  marriage  were  pub- 
lished on  three  successive  market  days  in  the  Market 
Place,  and  the  ceremony  was  performed  in  the  presence 
of  a  justice  of  the  peace. 

Curious  entries  are  occasionally  met  with,  written 
by  the  parson,  in  the  pages  of  Parish  Registers.  These 
have  reference  to  various  matters.  In  Nantglyn  Regis- 
ter are  entries  referring  to  the  severity  of  the  weather. 
Thus: 

"Mem^**"  That  on  y«  29***  of  May  1759  there  was  a  Deep 
Snow  upon  Moel  Gwthas  opposite  to  Nantglyn. 

"  Will.  Samuel  Vic^ 
of  Nantglyn.*' 

And  again ; 
"Mem**"^  That  on  the  Sunday  morning  May  27th  1821  the 


PARISH   RECORDS.  13 

Nantglyn  Hills  were  covered  with  snow.     It  snow'd  during  the 
two  preceding  days. 

"  Peter  Williams 
"  Nantglyn  Vicarage  Jesus  College  Oxford." 


In  Cerrig  y  drudion  the  appearance  of  a  comet  is 
chronicled  m  the  Register,  and  many  are  the  disasters 
which  were  supposed  to  follow  in  its  wake,  and  these 
are  enumerated.  The  entry  is  in  parts  illegible,  but 
the  following  is  readable  : 

"  1652.  Stella  Candata.  A  comett  appeared  the  7  of  Decem- 
ber &  continued  every  night  to  be  seen  till  about  the  last  of  the 
same  month  being  retrograd  in  the  first  part  of  Gemini  and  last 

of  taurus moving  from  south  to  north  with  a  very  quick 

motion  presaging  great  calamities  to  Husbandmen  detriment  of 

cattell  j)utrifaction  of  corn variety  of  laws death  of 

great  commanders  etc." 

The  latter  part  of  this  entry  is  particularly  curious 
and  interesting. 

On  the  first  page  of  Clocaenog  Register  the  follow- 
ing entry  is  made,  but  it  is  neiuier  dated  nor  signed. 
The  entry,  though,  is  of  importance,  as  it  tells  us  that 
the  stained  glass  window  in  that  church  dated  from 
1633.     The  entry  is  as  follows  : 

"  Upon  the  East  window  of  Clocaenoc  Church  this  inscription 
is  left,  though  somewhat  defaced : 

" '  Jesu  Christ  is  most    Have  marce  on  then  (m) 
That  made  this  cost    A°  DoiSii  Mcccccxxxni*.' 


j>  f» 


At  present  there  is  no  stained  glass  in  the  window, 
exceptmg  a  few  fragments  ;  but  there  is  in  the  parish 
a  tradition  that  it  was  removed  to  make  room  for  com- 
mon, transparent  glass,  as  the  church  was  dark.  This 
was  done  rather  than  going  to  the  trouble  and  expense 
of  making  a  window  in  the  north  wall.  It  need  hardly 
be  said  that  at  present  there  is  not  a  vestige  of  the 
inscription  given  above. 

In  several  Registers  I  find  reference  to  excommuni- 
cation and  penance.     Thus,  on  the  inside  cover  of  the 


14  PARISH   RECORDS. 

Parish  Register  of  Newtown,  Montgomeryshire,  are  to 
be  seen  the  following  entries  : 

"Memorand.  August  y*  11**  1771.  The  following  Persons 
denounced  Excommunicated. 

"  Mary  Jones  Mary  Davies  EdW*  Lloyd  Mary  Ingram  and 
Mary  Evans  all  for  Fornication  and  Bastardy 

*'  by  Isaac  Davies  curate". 

It  is  added  that 

"  Two  of  the  abovementioned  viz.  Mary  Ingram  &  Mary  Evans 

were  absolved  at  Pool  by  Thos.  Hughes on  Friday  y«  29 

Day  of  May  1772  and  did  penance  in  Newtown  Church  on  Sun- 
day y*  31  before  the  whole  congregation.*' 

Penance  in  those  parts  of  Montgomeryshire  reached 
our  own  days.  I  was  personally  acquainted  with  an 
old  farmer  who  in  his  younger  days  did  penance,  robed 
in  a  white  sheet,  in  Llanwnog  Church.  I  received  this 
information  from  the  present  parish  clerk  of  that 
church,  who  is  between  eighty  and  ninety  years  old. 
In  other  parts  of  Wales  the  aged  have  told  me  of  per- 
sons who  publicly  did  penance  in  church  for  evil  doings. 

Entries  similar  to  the  foregoing  are  also  in  Llanfair 
DyflFryn  Clwyd  Register.     They  are  as  follows  : 

"  Memorand.  That  Robt.  Thomas  Jones  and  Katherine  his 
wife  excommunicated  persons  for  having  been  married  without 
license  were  reconciled  to  the  church  and  Absolved  by  Mr.  Pierce 
Lewis  on  June  26,  1693.^' 

Immediately  underneath  this  entry  it  is  stated  that 

"  Peter  Edwards  &  Katherine  his  wife  excommunicated  for 
the  like  oflFense  were  absolved  by  Mr.  Pierce  Lewis,  June  27, 
1693.'' 

Next  follow  other  entries  which  show  that  people 
•were  excommunicated  for  profaning  the  Lord's  Day  and 
for  clandestine  marriage.     They  are  as  follows: 

"Henry  Eichard  for  prophaning  the  Lord's  Day  and  John 
David  and  Alice  v*'*^  Thomas  for  clandestine  marriage  were  all 
three  pronounced  excommunicated  July  1694. 

"  Alice  y^^  Thomas  the  wife  of  John  David  being  penitent 


PARISH   RECORDS.  15 

and  at  the  point  of  Death  was  absolved  13***  of  August  by  me 
Eich^  Edwards  vicar  of  Llanfair. 
"  She  dyed  the  same  day/' 


From  other  entries  it  would  appear  that  this  woman's 
husband  was  not  absolved  for  several  years  after  his 
wife's  death,  for  I  take  it  that  the  August  mentioned 
by  Vicar  Edwards  was  that  succeeding  July  1694.  My 
supposition  is  partly  corroborated  by  the  fact  that  the 
next  like  entry  bears  date  September  6th,  1696,  and 
then  follows  this  entry  : 

"  John  David  af ores^  was  absolved  by  me  He  being  penitent 
and  submitting  to  the  censures  of  y*  Church. 

"  Bic*  Edwards". 

It  is  not  improbable  that  John  David  was  contuma- 
cious because  loath  to  submit  to  the  penance  imposed. 

This  might  be  inferred  from  the  words  '^  He sub- 

milting  to  the  censures  ofy  Church.'' 

I  may  state  that  Archbishop  Laud  issued,  in  1635,  a 
form  of  penance  and  absolution,  in  which  the  penitent 
is  directed  to  appear  at  the  church  in  a  white  sheet, 
with  a  white  wand  in  his  hand ;  and  it  seems,  from  the 
accounts  of  the  aged,  that,  to  a  considerable  extent, 
penance  was  performed  in  Wales  in  the  manner  pre- 
scribed by  the  Archbishop  ;  and  John  David  prpbably 
objected  to  the  white  sheet  and  the  other  component 
parts  of  penance,  and  hence  his  tardy  repentance. 

I  will  now  give  a  few  cuUings  of  another  kind  from 
these  Registers.  Sittings  in  churches  often  caused  much 
contention  in  parishes,  and  it  is  not  to  be  surprised  at 
that  reference  to  this  matter  is  found  in  Parish  Regis- 
ters. In  many  parishes  I  have  stumbled  upon  such 
entries.  One  of  these  gives  leave  to  a  person  to  occupy 
a  seat  in  church  in  the  absence  of  the  owner.  This 
would  be  a  privilege  where  the  church  was  too  small  to 
provide  seats  for  all  the  parishioners ;  and  this,  un- 
doubtedly, was  occasionally  the  case.  A  few  extracts 
on  this  matter  will  not  be  without  interest. 


16  PARISH   RECORDS. 

"Anno  DoAi  1707. 
"Edward  Hughes  of  Bagillt  gentleman  doth  on  this  16*^  day 
of  July  1707  grant  unto  Robert  Penant  schoolm'  in  Danhassaph 
leave  to  sit  in  his  pew  w'**  certain  of  his  scholars  in  his  absence 
during  his  will  and  pleasure  only  and  no  longer  in  y®  pre- 
sence of 

"  Ow  Rowlands  Vic 
Jane  Parry/' 

The  above  entry  is  in  Llanasa  Register.  In  one 
Register  I  found  permission  given  to  the  setting  up  of 
a  seat  close  to  the  altar-rails,  with  the  provision,  how- 
ever, that  the  occupant  should  vacate  the  seat  when 
the  Holy  Communion  was  being  administered.  The 
want  of  space  will  account  for  the  crowding  of  seats 
into  the  chancel  of  country  and  even  town  churches  in 
the  last  century.  It  is  evident  that  the  limited  space 
in  churches  was  appropriated  by  seats  to  such  a  degree 
that  there  was  but  little  regularity  observed  in  their 
arrangement.  The  following  entry  in  Llanycil  Regis- 
ter shows  how  every  spot  in  a  church  was  occupied  by 
seats  : 

"Men :  that  I  Edward  Humflreys  R'  of  Llanyckildid  ask  and 
obtain  leave  of  y*  Rev*  M'  Maurice  Vaughan  for  my  sister  to 
sit  in  a  little  seat  on  the  south  side  of  the  church  next  the  alley 
and  between  the  reading  desk  and  chancell  w«^  seat  of  indisput- 
able right  belongs  to  the  tenement  of  Cerrigllwydion.  Witness 
my  hand.    E.  HumflFreys." 

This  was  in  1 708.  But  sufficient  has  been  said  about 
church  seats. 

Another  subject  often  referred  to  and  written  about 
in  Parish  Registers  is  burials  within  churches.  Entries 
point  out  the  spot  occupied  by  the  departed.  Thus, 
aa  entry  in  Derwen  informs  us  that  the  Rev.  John 
Jones,  M.A.,  who  for  forty  years  was  rector  of  that 
parish  (from  1632  to  1672),  and  who,  I  might  add, 
kept  the  Registers  complete  during  this  period,  was 
buried  under  "the  step  to  the  reading-desk.  The  in- 
scription on  the  stone  was  copied  into  the  Register,  and 
it  is  thus  preserved  whilst  the  stone  itself  has  disap- 
peared : 


ft 


PABISH    RECORDS.  17 

f 

*An  inscription  upon  an  old  stone  under  the  step  to  y*  Bead- 
ing Desk  in  Derwen  Church, — 

"  *  Hie  jacet  corpus  Johannes  Jones  oriundi  de  Ruthin,  Artium 
Magister  Oxon,  et  quadragint.  annos  Rectoris  de  Derwen,  qui 
obiit  13  die  Feb.  anno  Domini  1671  iEtatis  suae  91/" 

A  similar  entry  is  found  in  the  Newtown  books  : 

"  Died  at  the  Rectory,  Newtown,  October  7th,  1811,  the  Revd. 
Edward  Lewis,  and  was  buried  on  the  11th  day  of  October,  in 
the  Rector's  chancel,  in  the  pew  on  the  north  side  of  the  Com- 
munion Table,  aged  50.    He  was  Rector  of  Newtown  15  years." 

A  curious  naemorandum  of  an  agreement  made  be- 
tween certain  parties,  with  reference  to  a  burial-place, 
is  to  be  seen  in  Derwen  Register.     It  is  as  follows  : 

"  Memorand.  y*  it  is  agreed  y®  1 7th  day  of  Aprill between 

Robert  Evans  of  Tycerrig  in  y*  parish  of  Derwen &  David 

Uoyd  of  Derwen  about  a  buriing  place  in  y®  church  of 

Derwen  that  Robert  Evans  afores*  is  to  bury  Judith  Roberts  his 
mother  in  y*  third  place  from  y*  wall  under  her  sitting  place. 
Provided  that  the  said  grave  be  digg'd  so  deep  that  the  afores** 
David  Lloyd  or  y*  heir  of  his  house  may  bury  one  that  first 
happens  to  dy  of  his  family  upon  ye  fores,  corps  in  y*  same  grave, 
&  also  y*  y*  heir  of  Tycerrig  may  bury  next  after  that  in  y*  said 

grave,  if  it  be  fitt  to  bee  diggd  up,  and  so  the  same  family 

to  bury  in  y®  said  grave  for  ever.  Witness  our  hands  y*  day  & 
year  above  written. 

"  Subscribed  by  both  the  parties  afores^  in  presence  of 

"  J.  Langford 
&  six  others." 

I  have  observed  in  some  Registers  of  deaths  and 
marriages  that  the  amounts  offered  on  these  occasions 
to  the  clergyman  are  given.  The  amounts  varied  con- 
siderably. Sometimes  they  came  to  a  few  pence ;  or, 
if  paupers,  even  no  offerings  were  made.  In  Derwen, 
offerings  at  funerals  varied  from  lOd.  to  £l  65.  In 
1683  the  yearly  offerings  at  funerals  were  £6:1:6; 
in  1703,  £4:3:4.  At  the  funeral  of  John  Williams, 
Dec.  1708,  the  offerings  were  £1  65. 

In  Llanrhaiadr  yn  Mochnant  the  Registers  show  the 
amount  of  offerings  at  both  funerals  and  weddings. 

5th  ssb.,  vol.  y  2 


18  PARISH   RECORDS. 

These  were  very  considerable,  but  they  varied  accord- 
ing to  the  position  in  life  of  the  persons  buried  or  mar- 
ried. The  average  offerings  at  marriages  in  that  parish 
were  6^.;  the  onerings  at  funerals  averaged  about  10s. 
I  will  give  a  few  extracts  from  Llanrhaiadr  Registers. 
Thus : 

''  1721.    Johannes  Thomas  duxit  Gwenam  Mar. 

Maurice  .  .  26     00     07    02 

"1721.    Morganus    Thomas    clandestine  Jan. 

duxit  Janam  Griffiths  .  29     00     05     00 

"1715.    Johannes    Thomas    de   Trewern 

sep  July  4      .  1     10      3." 

These  entries  throw  light  on  the  ancient  custom  of 
offerings  in  churches. 

Besides  the  entries  that  I  have  already  mentioned, 
there  are  many  others  of  an  interesting  kind  to  be  found 
in  Parish  Registers ;  but  enough  has  been  said  to  show 
how  well  worthy  of  careful  perusal  these  books  are. 
The  fugitive  entries  I  now  leave. 

churchwardens'  book. 

Another  book  of  a  most  interesting  nature,  and  one 
that  if  studied  will  throw  much  liffht  upon  days  gone 
by.  is  the  churchwardens'  book,  in  whicE  is  minutely 
entered  an  account  of  moneys  collected  and  expended. 
From  entries  in  this  book  it  would  appear  that  the 
country  was  infested  with  vermin  even  so  late  as  the 
last  century,  and  for  their  destruction  the  parish  paid 
certain  sums  fixed  by  the  parishioners  in  vestry.  The 
proscribed  animals  were  foxes,  moles,  polecats,  wild 
cats,  ravens,  hedgehogs,  badgers,  fitchets,  and  fulbarts. 
The  price  usually  paid  for  their  destruction,  in  the 
seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  in  the  parishes 
about  the  Vale  of  Clwyd,  was  as  follows  : — Bitch-fox, 
2^.  6d.;  dog-fox,  25.;  cubs,  each,  Is.;  polecat,  each,  Is.; 
wild  cat,  2s.  6d.;  raven,  2d.;  hedgehog,  id.;  badger.  Is.; 
fitchets,  2c?.;  fulbarts,  2d.  The  mole-catcher  was  paid 
£2  5s.  Si,  year  in  the  present  century.     The  badger  is 


PARISH    RECORDS.  19 

marked  low,  but  I  find  that  it  once  ranked  in  value  with 
the  fox.     Thus  at  Cilcen  I  find  these  entries  : 

"  1663,  for  killing  a  fox  jd. 

"  1669,  Edward  Parry  for  killing  two  badgers  00  ijrf." 

'  With  the  exception  of  naoles  and  hedgehogs,  all  the 
aninsals  enumerated  preyed  on  poultry  and  lambs,  and 
hence  the  wish  for  their  destruction.  Hedgehogs  were 
believed  to  suck  cows,  and  therefore  on  the  principle  of 
give  a  dog  a  bad  name  and  hang  him,  they  were 
doomed  to  death.  The  mole  in  our  days  is  trapped  and 
killed.  It  was  a  custom  to  nail,  underneath  the  lich- 
gate, the  carcases  of  the  animals  killed,  so  that  the 
people  might  see  that  they  were  not  imposed  upon. 

The  price  given  for  these  animals  varied  in  parishes, 
presumedly  according  to  their  supply.  Thus  I  find  in 
Eglwysbach  that  they  paid  in  1720,  "for  killing  two 
polecats  0:5:  0",  whilst  in  Cilcen  parish,  in  1714,  the 
sum  for  "  killing  a  pole  cat  was  00  :  01  :  00";  and  this 
was  also  the  sum  paid  in  the  year  1828,  in  Cilcen,  for 
"  killing  a  Pole  Katt  00  :  01  :  0''.  The  like  discrepancy 
appears  in  many  parishes  in  connection  with  the  price 
given  for  killing  obnoxious  animals,  such  as  foxes,  etc. 

Much  information  respecting  the  value  of  labour,  eat- 
ables, and  clothing,  in  days  gone  by,  can  be  obtained 
by  consulting  the  churchwardens'  accounts.  Thus  I 
find  in  1713,  in  Eglwysbach,  the  following  entry  : 

"  for  one  day  worke         .  .01     0." 

In  Llandegla,  in  1755,  is  the  following  entry  : 

"  Paid  for  two  pairs  of  shoes  to  Thomas  Lang- 
fords  children  .     00     2     8." 

This  was  very  cheap  ;  but  in  1820  I  find  that  shoes 
had  advanced  in  value.  Thus  in  Llanarmon  Mynydd 
Mawr  they  were  in  that  year  6^.  9cZ.  a  pair,  as  proved 
by  the  following  entry  : 

*'1820.     Pair  of  new  choose  .  .6     9." 

Clothing,  too,  seems  to  have  been  formerly  cheap  as 

2« 


20  PABISH   H£(X)RDS. 

compared  with  later  days.     Thus  in  1833  I  find  this 
entry  in  Llanychan  Book  : 

"  Pair  of  trousers  for  boy  .  .  .1    3." 

Eatables  differed  in  value  from  what  they  are  now, 
I  will  give  a  few  extracts  on  this  subject : 

Bettws  G,  G.,1721.— "  Paid  for  a  botle  of  wine 

at  Whitsuntide  and  bread  .  .     00     00     11 

Zlanarmon  Mynydd  Mawr,  1820. — "1  strike 

tatus  .  .  .  .02      0." 

Some  things,  however,  were  dearer  in  the  last  cen- 
tury than  in  our  days.  Candles  and  oats  and  barley 
may  be  mentioned  as  instances.  The  study  of  prices  as 
compared  with  the  value  of  labour  in  the  last  two  and 
a  half  centuries,  is  a  subject  for  the  economist,  and  he 
can  derive  much  valuable  and  reliable  information  on 
the  subject  from  our  churchwardens'  accounts. 

The  searcher  after  old  customs,  the  folk-lorist,  can 
revel  in  the  entries  made  by  our  churchwardens.  Cus- 
toms that  have  ceased  to  exist  are  there  to  be  found. 
I  will  allude  to  a  few  of  these. 

First  comes  the  early  service  on  Christmas  mom, 
called  the  Plygain.  This  was  common  to  all  churches, 
and  ther6  is  no  parish  without  proof  of  its  existence.  I 
will  transcribe  references  to  this  custom  : 

Oilcen,  1731. — "  Paid  for  3  pound  candles  to 

Plu<^in  and  carege  ...  20 

Llandidan,  1679. — "  It.  for  candles  for  morn- 
ing Prayer  on  Christmas  day        .  .     00     00     10 

Derwm,  1673.—"  ffor  candles  att  Christmas       00     00     09 

Tryddyn,  1770. — "for  candles  att  Chrismas 
Day  and  two  candlestick  ,  .  .0      4      0." 

These  items  are  repeated  year  after  year,  and  come 
far  into  the  present  century.  It  would  appear  that  the 
carol-singers  were  paid,  and  that  they  wandered  far 
from  church  to  church  to  take  part  in  carol-singing. 
Thus  I  find  the  following  and  like  entries  : 


3 

0 

4 

0 

1 

0 

2 

0 

2 

0 

6 

6 

5 

0." 

PARISH  RECORDS.  21 

llanfairD,  Clwyd,  1821-2. — "  For  singing  carrols  at 
Christmas  ..... 

1824. — "Singing  carrols  on  Christmas 

Ditto  Eyster  day    .... 

Llanychan,  1822. — "  To  a  man  for  singing  a  carol  at 
xLmas        ...... 

Tryddyn,  1770. — "  To  the  singars  att  Cresmas  Day 

1807. — "  Christmas  Carols,  4^.;  to  candles,  2i.  6rf.    . 

"To  Llanarmon  singers         .... 

Ruthin  singers  are  mentioned  as  having  been  paid 
for  their  carol-singing  at  Tryddyn. 

Evidence  of  strewing  the  churches  with  rushes  is  very 
common : 

Oam^a,  1726.— "  For  Eushes  at  Est'     .  .036 

"3  Bottles  of  Eushes  michael-mass  .016 

CUcm,  1714.— "For  Eushes  &  carridge  .  .  00  04  06 

"1726,  for  moeing  of  the  Eases  .  .        01  00." 

This  custom  continued  long  into  this  century,  as  proved 
by  entries  made  by  the  churchwardens. 

Proof  is  forthcoming  from  these  books  that  large 
numbers  communicated  in  church  on  the  chief  festivals. 
Special  provision  was  made  for  AUhallowstide,  Trinity 
Sunday,  Whitsuntide,  Michaelmas,  Christmas,  Easter, 
Candlemas,  and  Lent.  This  statement  is  further  cor- 
roborated by  entries  made  in  Registers  of  the  numbers 
that  communicated  on  this  or  that  holy  day. 

Light  is  thrown  by  these  entries  on  the  mode  of 
burying.  They  inform  us  that  bodies  were  carried  to 
the  grave  on  horse-biers.  Thus  I  select  from  among 
many  extracts  the  following  : 

Gwyddelwem,  1749.— "To  David  Eoberts  for  fol- 
lowing the  Horse  Bier  to  carry  the  body  of 
Jane  Edmond  .  .  .008 

''  Expences  attend  the  Burial      .  .006 

"  To  my  Horse  then       .  .01    0." 

But  1  will  not  further  ouote  from  these  entries.  I 
may  state,  though,  that  the  churchwardens'  accounts 
were  audited  and  then  read  of  a  Sunday  publicly  in 
church.  I  find  a  note  to  this  effect  at  tne  foot  of 
Clocaenog  accounts  : 


22  PARISH   RECORDS. 

"  This  account  was  read  in  Clocaenog  Church  on  Sunday,  viz. 
2dieDecembrisl71J/' 

I  will  now  refer  briefly  to  another  book  well  worthy 
of  careful  reading  ;  that  is,  to 


THE   VESTRY-BOOK. 

It  would  seem  that  formerly  vestries  were  held  in 
church  of  a  Sunday.  Our  forefathers  saw  no  impro- 
priety in  this ;  they  rather  clung  to  the  custom .  In  a 
vestry  held  in  Tryddyn,  in  1810,  I  find  the  following 
entry  on  this  matter  : 

"  This  Vestry  was  to  be  held  in  Church,  as  every  other  ought  to 
he,  and  no  person  has  a  right  to  adjourn  to  be  held  any  where 
else  but  the  minister  only. 

"  J.  WiUiams." 

The  subjects  discussed  and  resolutions  passed  in 
these  vestries,  where  they  are  fully  recorded,  constitute 
the  history  of  a  parish. 

It  is  difficult  to  make  judicious  selections  of  the 
minutes  passed  by  these  vestries ;  but  I  will  try  to  do 
so.  One  of  the  great  difficulties  that  the  parishioners 
had  to  contend  witli  in  former  dayB  was  pauperism,  and 
many  resolutions  passed  at  vestries  refer  to  this  mat- 
ter. Thus  at  Tryddyn,  in  1820,  I  find  the  following 
minute  of  the  transactions  of  the  parishioners  in  vestry 
assembled : 

"1820.  Agreed  that  all  the  Paupers  be  called  in  church,  and 
have  a  jpatch  put  on,  according  to  Act  of  Parliament." 

It  was  made  difficult  for  a  poor  outsider  to  become  a 
legal  parishioner,  and  various  minutes  on  this  matter 
were  passed.     One  only  will  I  give  : 

"Gwyddelwern,  Dec'' 29,  1749.  Agreed  at  the  Vestry  held 
by  the  minister  &  ch.  wardens  &  other  inhabitants  of  the  parish 
of  Gwyddelwem,  that  no  Person  or  Persons  shall  be  admitted 
or  suffered  to  Live  in  the  said  parish  unless  they  pay  ten  pounds 
rent  yearly,  or  produce  a  certificate  to  keep  the  said  parish  from 
all  damages,  or  unless  the  Landlord  undertake  and  promise  to 


PARISH   RECORDS.  23 

pay  all  manner  of  taxes  for  the  said  person  so  admitted.    As 
witness  our  hands, 

"  Kobert  Evans,  Minister, 
&  others/^ 

But  when  a  tradesman,  a  journeyman  workman,  was 
wanted  in  a  parish,  as  an  inducement  for  him  to  settle 
in  it,  he  was  made  a  parishioner.  An  instance  of  this 
I  find  in  Llanelidan,  which  is  as  follows  : 

"January  20th,  1754.  Att  a  vestry  then  held  in  the  parish 
church  of  Llanelidan  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  minister, 
churchwardens,  and  other  parishioners  then  present,  have  own** 
and  acknowledged  John  Simon  Taylor,  now  living  in  Denbigh 
Town,  to  be  an  inhabitant  legally  settled  in  the  said  Parish  of 
Llanelidan,  and  have  at  the  same  time  granted  him  a  certificate 
of  the  same.  In  witness  whereof  we  have  hereunto  subscribed 
our  hands  the  20th  day  of  Jan.  1754. 

"  William  Evans,  Minister, 
&  others." 

Many  curious  entries  are  made  in  Vestry-Books 
relating  to  the  pastimes  of  the  people.  Thus  I  find  that 
reference  is  made  to  ball-playing  on  church  walls.  The 
following  is  an  entry  in  the  Vestry-Book  of  Newtown  : 

"  May  25, 1722.  It  is  agreed  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  town 
&  parish  of  New  Town  that  persons  playing  Ball  upon  the 
church  or  against  the  walls  or  steeple  thereof,  shall  forfeit  for 
every  such  offense  the  sum  of  five  shillings,  payable  to  the 
churchwardens  for  y®  time  being,  to  be  laid  out  in  the  repairs  of 
the  windows  of  the  said  church.  As  witness  our  hands  y®  day 
&  year  above  said. 

"  Jo**  Pryce 
Ev.  Evans,  Eect"" 
&  others.'* 

It  was  but  right  to  spend  the  money  in  repairing  the 
windows  broken  by  the  ball-players.  I  may  here  state 
that  this  is  the  only  instance  I  have  met  with  of  a  lay- 
man signing  before  the  clergyman.  Many  churches 
had,  until  lately,  lines  a  short  distance  from  the 
ground,  on  the  outside  walls,  below  which  the  ball 
would  not  be  in  play.  Buttington  was  one  of  these 
churches ;  and  even  now  this  line  can  be  traced  on  the 


24  PARISH   RECORDS. 

north  side  of  Llansilia  Church.  Shutters  were  put  up 
to  protect  the  windows  from  the  ball ;  and  the  hinges 
and  staples  in  many  churches  have  reached  our  days. 
Llanelidan  and  Cilcen  may  be  mentioned  as  instances. 
The  scorings  are  still  to  be  seen  of  matches  played  on 
Llanelidan  Church.  They  are  on  the  wall  of  the  door- 
way to  the  vestry,  or  singers'  gallery. 

We  have,  however,  seen  in  the  resolution  of  the 
Newtown  Vestry  that  ball-playing  on  church  walls  had 
become  distasteful  to  the  leaders  of  the  people  in  1722; 
but  all  changes  that  contain  the  elements  of  perma- 
nency are  gradual,  and  it  is,  therefore,  not  to  be  won- 
dered at  that  the  people  clung  to  their  games  of  ball 
in  churchyards  notwithstanding  episcopal  injunctions 
and  vestry  resolutions,  and  that  it  was  long  before  they 
relinquished  their  churchyard  and  Sunday  sports.  A 
resolution  passed  by  the  parishioners  of  Cilcen  in  1700 
refers  to  the  matter  under  consideration  : 

**  June  y®  10,  1700. — We,  the  parishioners  of  Kilkin,  whose 
names  are  subscribed,  in  order  to  prevent  y®  profanation  of  the 
Lord's  Day,  do  agree  amongst  ourselves  that  we  will  give  our 
children  &  servants  free  liberty  from  three  a  clock  every  Satur- 
day evening,  to  goe  &  recreate  themselves  in  all  lawful  recrea- 
tions, &  that  we  will  take  care  that  our  children  &  servants  shall 
duly  on  the  Ls  day  repair  to  church,  &  demean  themselves  the 
rest  of  the  day  as  Xtians  ought  to  do. 

"Ellis  Lewis,  Vic, 
&  17  parishioners." 

A  singular  resolution  was  passed  in  the  end  of  the 
last  century  by  the  parishioners  of  Llanwddyn,  which 
was,  to  limit  themselves  to  the  consumption  of  a  certain 
quantity  of  wheat,  so  as  to  tide  over  the  scarcity  then 
existing,  and  to  provide  a  suflficient  quantity  for  sowing. 

But  there  are  many  singular  resolutions  to  be  found 
in  vestry  minute  books.  Enough  extracts,  though, 
have  been  given  to  show  that  these  documents  are  not 
only  interesting,  but  highly  valuable,  and  that  they 
constitute  a  sort  of  parochial  history. 


PARISH    RECORDS.  25 


TERRIERS. 

These  are  documents  that  contain  much  information. 
From  these  I  find  that  customs  once  common  are  no 
more.  I  will  mention  only  one,  viz.,  that  of  funerals 
being  preceded  by  the  parish  clerk,  tolling,  as  he  walked 
along  in  advance  of  the  procession,  a  small  hand-bell ; 
which  bell  is  mentioned  in  the  terriers  as  property  be- 
longing to  the  church.  Terriers  also  throw  consider- 
able light  on  tithes,  and  on  other  matters  bearing  on 
the  life  of  our  forefathers. 

The  loose  papers,  as  receipts  of  briefs,  indentures  of 
lads,  copies  of  wills,  etc.,  are  not  without  a  certain 
value,  and  these  may  be  looked  through  by  any  one 
searching  our  parish  chest. 

With  one  more  remark  I  will  bring  my  lengthy  paper 
to  a  close.  These  records  that  I  have  laid  under  con- 
tribution are  not,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  kept  as  carefully 
as  they  deserve.  They  ought  to  be  bound ;  and  the 
contents  of  the  parish  chest  might  be  made  public,  so 
that  on  a  change  of  ministers  in  a  parish,  no  risk  of  loss 
of  a  single  document  might  be  incurred.  And  I  will 
add  that  vestry-records  ought  to  be  deposited  in  the 
parish  chest,  and  not  be,  as  often  they  now  are,  in  the 
hands  of  private  individuals. 


26 


ANCIENT  BEITISH  HUT-DWELLINGS 
NEAR  BALA,  MERIONETHSHIRE. 

BY   THE   REV.  C.   H.    DBINKWATER,   M.A. 
{Read  at  Denbigh,  August  1887.) 


•/'^/mu\^^ 


\ 


Plan  of  ancient  British  Hnt-Dwellin^s  on  the  South  Slope  of  T  Foel  Caws, 

near  Llanuwchllyn. 

In  the  year  1885  an  attempt  was  made  by  the  late 
Edward  Jones,  of  Newport,  and  myself  to  photograph 
the  famous  **  pictured  rocks"  in  the  valley  between  two 
hills  above  Llanuwchllyn,  which  are  marked  on  the 
Ordnance  Map  respectively  "Y  Foel  Caw^s"  and  "Pen- 
maen",  on  the  right  hand  side  of  the  road  leading  from 
Bala  to  Dolgelley,  not  far  from  the  springs  or  fountain- 
heads  of  the  Dwfrdwy.  The  day  we  selected  was  not 
propitious.  It  had  been  raining  more  or  less  for  many 
hours ;  and  although  there  were  occasional  gleams  of 
sunshine  which  gave  us  hopes  of  success,  they  were 
suddenly  dashed,  on  our  arrival  at  the  spot,  by  the  burst 
of  a  tremendous  thunderstorm. 

As  we  were  hurrying  across  the  south-west  shoulder 


ANCIENT  BRITISH  HUT-DWELLINGS.  27 

of  Y  Foel  Caws  I  exclaimed,  "  See,  here  are  the  vestiges 
of  an  ancient  village  1"  To  whinh  my  friend  replied, 
"  Never  mind,  get  along  as  fast  as  you  can";  and  with 
another  hasty  glance  through  the  driving  rain  I  had  to 
be  content.  However,  I  was  not  satisfied  with  leaving 
it  so,  and  therefore  asked  a  friend  at  Llanuwchllyn  to 
visit  the  spot,  and  make  a  careful  examination.  He 
did  visit  the  neighbourhood,  but  failed  to  identify  the 
spot ;  seeking,  I  suppose,  too  far  to  the  east. 

On  Thursday,  July  14  th,  I  made  another  eflfort,  and 
the  day  being  fine  and  dry  and  clear,  managed  to  reach 
the  place,  and  proceeded  to  make  a  rough  plan,  which 
I  have  placed  at  the  heading  of  this  paper. 

It  will  be  seen  that  there  are  at  least  five  enclosures 
of  rough,  unhewn  stones,  two  of  which  are  double,  con- 
sisting of  two  rooms  each.  In  a,  E,  and  F  (see  the 
plan)  only  one  range  of  stones  is  visible ;  but  in  B,  c,  and 
D  there  are  several  courses  of  stone,  the  wall  between 
these  two  double  dwellings  being  between  4  and  5  ft. 
high.  The  entrances  of  A  and  b  are  towards  the  south, 
while  those  of  c  and  D  are  in  the  opposite  direction. 
These  buildings  are  roughly  rectangular,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  F,  which  is  circular,  and  is  on  a  mound,  so 
irregular  in  shape  that  it  cannot  be  considered  of  natu- 
ral formation.  The  dimensions  are  much  alike,  being 
15  to  20  ft.  long  by  9  to  12  ft.  wide.  It  is  diflicult  to 
estimate  the  size  as  the  walls  are  by  no  means  of  uni- 
form thickness. 

From  the  building  or  circle  marked  p  there  is  a  clear 
view  up  and  down  the  valley,  which  cannot  be  had 
from  the  other  houses ;  and,  with  the  exception  of  the 
point  of  the  crag  which  dominates  the  whole,  this  is 
the  most  important  post  for  observation. 

It  was  the  shape  and  position  of  this  circle  that  in- 
clined me  to  believe  that  I  had  lighted  upon  an  unmis- 
takable settlement  of  the  very  earliest  times,  and  not 
a  summer  sheiling  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  lake-shore 
to  the  north-east.  Extensive  excavation  within  and 
around  these  buildings  might  furnish  evidence  of  the 


28  ANCIENT  BRITISH   HUT-DWELLINGS. 

age  of  their  builders  and  occupiers,  but  nothing  more 
than  conjecture  is  warranted  by  the  remains  above 
found.  That  the  buildings  b  and  o,  D  have  been  occu- 
pied in  comparatively  modern  times  is  possible;  but 
this  could  not  be  the  case  with  A,  b,  and  F,  of  which 
only  a  circle  or  a  parallelogram  of  unhewn  stones,  dis- 
connected in  some  instances  from  each  other,  remains 
above  ground. 

The  area  is  far  from  level,  A  being  some  16  ft.  higher 
than  B  and  c,  D,  while  E  is  lower  still ;  but  F  is  higher 
than  E,  and  from  it  there  is  a  better  range  of  view  up 
and  down  the  valley.  There  is  no  spring  or  stream  of 
water  near,  but  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away,  to  the  north- 
west, there  is  a  good  stream  ;  and  down  in  the  bottom 
of  the  valley  there  is  the  Dwfrdwy,  which,  although 
very  shallow,  does  not  seem  to  have  failed  altogether 
during  the  unusual  drought  of  last  month. 

I  can  dp  little  more  than  point  out  the  locality  of 
these,  to  me,  very  interesting  remains,  and  leave  to 
others  more  capable  of  dealing  with  them  the  responsi- 
bility of  pronouncing  upon  their  uses  and  age  of  erec- 
tion. 


BUBAL  IK  UAELOB  SAESNEG. 

WntFnmL 


29 


EMRAL   IN  MAELOR  SAESNEG, 

FLINTSHIRE. 


BY  THE   BSY.  CANON   LEE 


This  house  is  situated  in  part  of  Flintshire,  eight  miles 
west  of  Whitchurch,  Salop,  and  stands  on  the  left 
bank  of  a  small  river,  at  a  distance  of  half  a  mile  north 
of  the  Whitchurch  and  Bangor  road.  It  is  built  of 
brick  with  stone  facings,  like  the  old  Crewe  Hall,  and 
consists  of  one  range,  of  which  the  length  is  about  85  ft., 
with  an  addition,  made  in  1724,  of  two  wings  towards 
the  east ;  the  whole  forming  three  sides  of  a  square. 
The  rooms  in  the  wings  are  rather  small,  perhaps,  but 
admirably  proportioned.  Most  of  them  are  paneled. 
A  stone  shield  over  the  central  doorway  bears  the  "red 
hand  of  Ulster",  and  is  therefore  not  older  than  1813. 
Doors  open  into  the  square  from  both  wings,  and  the 
keystone  over  that  in  the  north  wing  bears  a  half- 
obliterated  device  like  one  to  be  seen  at  Penybryn 
House  in  Iscoyd.  One  is  surprised,  on  entering  by 
these  doors,  to  find  only  a  corridor  some  5^  ft.  wide. 
Opposite  the  chief  door,  two  small  rooms,  opening 
through  one  another,  lead  to  a  window  which  looks 
down  upon  the  moat. 

^  Turning  to  the  right  from  the  chief  door,  the  prin- 
cipal  rooms  are  reached  at  the  north-west  end  of  the 
edifice.  These  consist  of  a  splendid  dining-room  and 
ball-room ;  the  former  40  ft.  by  26,  and  17  high,  with 
one  window  looking  to  the  north,  13  ft.  high  by  17^, 
in  three  great  divisions,  and  seats  below  them.  The 
ceiling,  white  and  gold,  has  the  family  shield,  sable^ 
three  mullets  argent^  with  other  devices.  The  floor  is 
flagged,  and  there  is  a  small  marble  mantelpiece.  A 
bay  window  to  the  west  has  been  closed,  and  the  recess 
concealed. 


30  EMRAL  IN   MAELOR   SAESN£G. 

Ascending  by  an  elegant  staircase  with  classical  and 
medisBval  frescoes  on  the  walls,  the  saloon  is  reached. 
It  corresponds  to  the  room  below,  though  about  a  foot 
less  in  its  various  measurements.  It  differs  from  it, 
however,  in  having  a  retiring-room,  14^  ft.  wide,  at 
its  south  end;  in  having  its  bay-window  still  open 
(both  windows  being  much  smaller  than  those  in  the 
dining-room) ;  in  having  very  handsome  paneled  walls 
and  f  corei  ceilbg,  fpon  which  are  Lcribed.  the 
labours  of  Hercules.  This  room  is  altogether  delight- 
ful, and  with  its  views  of  the  park  to  the  north,  and 
the  moat  and  gardens  to  the  west,  with  the  rooks  sail- 
ing about  near  the  windows,  presents  a  scene  that  does 
not  soon  fade  from  the  memory. 

This  part  of  the  house  is  surmounted  by  a  Maltese 
cross  (which  was,  no  doubt,  a  part  of  the  old  chapel), 
and  is  of  rather  less  height  than  the  wings  with  their 
three  floors. 

Beneath  the  north  wing  is  a  cellar  of  the  same  date, 
from  which  a  fox  burrowed  under  the  dining-room,  and 
by  removing  one  of  the  flags  was  dug  out  at  a  depth  of 
4  or  5  ft.  through  the  sand. 

On  going  to  the  south-west  angle  of  the  house  we 
descend  by  five  steps  to  a  large  kitchen,  and  by  as 
many  more  to  a  small  cellar  similar  to  another  below 
the  butler's  pantry.  None  of  these  bear  any  marks  of 
antiquity ;  nor  do  the  windows  upon  the  west  side  in- 
dicate anything  earlier  than  the  reign  of  James  I.  The 
west  front,  excluding  the  offices  and  curtain-wall,  is,  as 
we  have  said,  about  85  ft.  long  ;  and  the  moat  on  the 
same  side,  beginning  from  the  bay-window  of  the 
dining-room,  is  142  ft.  to  the  angle,  where  it  bends 
85  ft.  to  the  east.  Its  width  is  35  ft.  The  water  that 
supplied  it  and  a  stewpond  in  the  shrubbery,  came 
from  a  weir  a  little  higher  up  the  stream. 

With  respect  to  the  date  of  the  older  part  of  the 
house,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  there  is  at  Sundorne 
an  engraving  of  a  house,  supposed  to  be  Emral,  with  a 
longer  west  frontage  than  the  present  one.  During  the 


EMRAL   IN    MAELOR  SAESNEG.  31 

civil  wars,  Emral,  which  was  held  for  the  Parliament, 
was  occupied  three  times  by  the  Royalists;  and  in 
1644,  March  28th,  a  man  who  was  engaged  in  it  writes  : 
"  We  have  taken  Emral  isterday,  and  Hanmer  House 
this  day.  Thanks  be  to  God,  we  lost  not  one  man  in 
taking  of  both  houses  ;  for  when  they  saw  the  piece  of 
ordnance  we  had,  they  yielded  both  nouses."  Then  in 
1656  (October),  Philip  Henry,  who  had  come  down 
there  from  Christ  Church,  Oxford,  three  years  before, 
to  act  as  tutor  to  the  Judge's  sons,  writes  in  his  Diary  : 
"  My  chamber  took  fire,  the  Hearth  of  y®  chimney  being 
ill  layd ;  but  the  Lord  in  mercy  prevented  the  danger"; 
and  again,  in  1657,  the  Jurors  appointed  by  the  Pro- 
tector to  inquire  touching  ecclesiastical  promotions  in 
Maelor,  say  that "  John  Puleston  is  seised  of  an  ancient 
Mansion  House  called  Emerall",  etc.;  that  there  **  is 
likewise  an  ancient  chappell  belonging  to  the  said  Man- 
sion House." 

As  Hanmer  House,  after  the  wars,  was  little  more 
than  a  heap  of  ruins,  and  as,  after  repeated  investiga- 
tion, assisted  on  one  occasion  by  the  Rector  of  Bangor 
Is-y-coed,  I  can  find  nothing  earlier  than  the  reign  of 
James  I,  it  only  remains  to  conclude  that  Emral  arose 
from  its  ruins,  the  old  materials  being  used  again. 
Among  Judge  Puleston  s  MSS.  there  are,  I  am  told,  no 
extensive  building  accounts  that  would  throw  light 
upon  this  subject.  It  is  probable,  therefore,  that  the 
west  front  was  re-erected  by  his  immediate  successors, 
and  that  the  engraving  at  Sundorne  represents  the 
house  as  it  was  before  the  civil  wars.  Lewis  Glyn 
Cothi,  whose  last  poem  comes  down  to  the  date  of 
1486,  makes  a  poetical  address  to  Roger  ap  John  ap 
Robert  (Puleston)  of  Maelawr,  speaking  of  him  as  a 
powerful  warrior,  and  one  who  possessed  great  wealth, 
a  noble  mansion,  and  an  extensive  territory.  Emral 
has  the  epithet  "  St.  Pawl"  applied  to  it.  This  was  a 
custom  much  in  use  with  the  bards,  meaning  St.  Paul's 
before  the  fire  of  1666. 

Though  our  subject  is  Emral,  and  not  the  Puleston 


32  EMRAL   IN   MAELOR  SAESNEG. 

family,  I  must  find  room  for  the  following  certificate, 
which  dates  about  1490,  and  establishes  the  accuracy 
of  John  Salesbury  8  statement,  that  "Pulest()n,Hanmer, 
and  Fowler,  are  English  settlers  in  Maelor'': 

"  To  all  truw  christin  peple  to  huven  this  writtyng  shall  come 
and  in  especiall  to  the  Chiff  Justice  &  to  the  Chamberlain  of 
North  Wales,  we  Sir  Eoger  Puleston  of  Maylore,  Knight,  John 
Puleston  of  Wrexham,  Esquier,  John  ap  Edward  ap  Madoc  of 
Broomffeld,  Gentylman,  send  greting  in  our  lord  everlasting,  & 
in  so  much  as  it  ys  meritorious  for  every  truw  crystine  man  to 
testify  &  here  record  in  every  truw  &  lawful  mater  it  is  to  he 
showyd  unto  us  that  a  young  man  Davyd  ap  Richard  ap  Morys 
of  the  Town  of  Buwrian  &  hys  brethren  are  distrayned  ffor 
diverse  Welsh  customes  wher  ther  fifader  was  an  Englishe  man 
&  a  flfre  holder  of  the  sayd  town ;  surmysing  that  they  are 
Welshmen,  wherflfor  wee  all  the  fforsayd  &c.  witnesse  &  testyfi 
ffor  truth  the  sayd  David  &  hya  brethren  comyn  thys  stok  that 
we  bine,  and  thys  will  meny  mor  of  this  Countre  testyfi  if  it  be 
required."     (Hengwrt  MS.,  213.) 

But  so  late  as  1723  there  is  this  entry  in  the  Worth- 
enbury  Register,  "  Thomas  Jones,  a  harper  at  Emrali, 
was  buried  October  «Slst." 

The  exact  date  when  the  Puleston  family  obtained 
Emral  is  uncertain  ;  but  it  was  before  1284,  for  in  that 
year  "  foresta  domini  Rogeri  de  Pyvylston"  occurs  as  a 
boundary  in  a  deed  of  sale  of  lands  in  GwUlington. 
(Salesbury  MSS.) 

On  the  death  of  Gruffy dd  ap  Madoc,  Prince  of  Powys 
Fadog,  in  1270,  his  wife,  Emma,  who  was  the  daughter 
of  Henry  de  Audley,  succeeded  to  much  of  his  inherit- 
ance (as  we  shall  notice  shortly) ;  and  on  her  death,  in 
1278,  the  King,  Edward  I,  immediately  put  Robert  de 
Crevequer  into  possession  "de  totH  terrS,  de  Maylor 
Sasnetn  cum  feodis,  cum  advocacionibus".  (Cal.  Rot. 
Pat.,  6  Edward  I.)  In  Dr.  Powell's  Caradoc  (p.  179) 
it  is  stated  that  "  Emma  conveyed  her  estate  to  the 
Audleys,  her  own  kin,  who,  getting  possession  of  it, 
took  the  same  from  the  King."  It  is  probable  that 
Robert  de  Crevequer  s  house  was  on  a  mound  to  the 
west  of  Gredington,  where  the  names  "  Bailiffs  Wood", 


EMRAL   IK  MAELOR  SAESNEO.  33 

"  Bailiffs  House",  "  Cumbers'  Park",  and  "Caput  Field", 
speak  for  themselves.  Obiitj  s.  p.,  a.d.  1317,  cet.  seventy- 
eight;  and  perhaps  his  lands  here  and  at  Prestatyn 
passed  to  one  of  his  own  name,  and  so  to  the  Conway 
family,  for  in  Harl.  MS.  1977  there  is  a  Pyers  Konwy, 
Archdeacon  of  St.  Asaph,  living  at  Gredington  c.  1530. 

I  do  not  undertake  to  reconcile  the  following  refer- 
ences :  "  Carta  Rob'ti  de  Crevequer  p'  quam  dedit  Bal- 
dewyno  de  Privytt .  totam  villam  de  Worthingbury 
cum  advocacione  eccVie  ejusdem  h'end .  sibi  heredibus 
et  assignatis.''  No  date.  (Rot.  Fin.  Henry  III  and 
Edward  I,  p.  72.)  "  Carta  Ric'i  de  Pyvelsdon  p'  quam 
reddidit  Regi  Edwardo  omnes  terras  et  tenementa  que 
de  ipso  Rege  tenuit  in  Worthingbury  in  p'tibus  de 
^  Mayelor  Seysenek.  dat.  an.  regni  ipsius  Regis .  vii .  et 
irrotul.  in  rubro  libro  scaccarii."  Upon  this  Robert  de 
Crevequer  is  put  into  possession.  In  the  same  year  he 
obtained  a  grant  of  a  weekly  market,  and  an  annual 
fair  of  three  days  at  his  manor  of  Overton.  (Dugdale's 
Baronage.)  In  12  Edward  I,  Roger  de  Pyvelsdon, 
Knt,  Sheriff  of  Anglesey,  and  veiy  Ltive  in  collecting 
the  King's  subsidies,  is  hanged  by  the  Welshmen  (Harl. 
MS.  1971,  where  "  Richard"  Pyvelsdon  is  said  to  have 
been  "beheaded"). 

In  the  Calendarium  Genealogicum  (Longmans,  1865), 
27  Edward  I,  June  3,  an  Inq.  p.  m.  shows  that  Adam 
de  Creting  died  seized  of  Haveringes,  Essex,  of  Over- 
ton Manor,  "  Mailor  Seisnek  terr  extent'  (Salop  aut 
Wallia)."  The  jurors  add,  "  Johannes  de  Creting  filius 
predicti  Adae  de  Creting  est  propinquior  heres  ipsius 
AdsB,  sed  cujus  setatis  sit  ignorant,  quia  natus  fiiit  apud 
Strogul  in  Wallia."  In  a  writ  to  Nicho.  de  Audeley 
and  Thomas  de  Macclesfield,  of  27  Edward  I  (see  Rolls 
of  Parliament,  vol.  i,  p.  279),  there  is  reference  made 
to  **Adam  de  Cretyng,  nuper  Ballivus  Celebris  memorie* 
AlianorsB  quondam  Regine  Anglie  consortis  nostre  de 
Overton."  Adam  de  Cretyng  was  killed  in  Gascony, 
22  Edward  I,  and  his  son  John  was  summoned  to  Par- 
liament as  a  Baron,  6th  Edward  III,  but  not  afterwards, 

5th  ber.,  vol.  t.  8 


34  EMRAL   IN   MAELOR  SAESNEQ. 

The  Strogul  (Strigyl)  where  he  was  born  is,  I  presume, 
the  village  of  Hanmer,  where  the  name  still  attaches 
to  a  road  between  high  banks  on  the  south-east  side. 
Its  later  name  of  Chad-hull  was  obtained  (as  supposed) 
from  St.  Chad's  residence  there. 

In  the  Salesbury  MSS.,  "Richard  de  Pyvelesdon 
makes  a  grant  to  Philip  de  Chetwynde  and  Isabella  his 
wife",  dated  at  Embrall,  22  Edward  I.  In  Dr.  Powell's 
(Caradoc)  History  of  Wales,  p.  301,  "he  does  homage 
at  Chester,  29th  Edward  I,  to  the  Prince  for  his  lands 
in  Wales.''  In  the  27th  Report,  98,  App.,  Rolls  Office, 
A.D.  1309,  "Rd.  de  Pulesdon,  Kt.,  holds  the  manor  of 
Embral,  in  Meylir  Seysnik,  immediately  of  the  King,  by 
service  yearly  of  6^.  2fd.,  and  was  (?  Embral)  of  the 
yearly  value  of  £10." 

Griffith  Maelor  having  died  at  his  Castle  of  Dinaa 
Bran  in  1270,  his  four  sons  indited  the  following : — 
"  By  deed  dated  at  Dinas  bran  on  the  morrow  of  St 
Thomas  the  Apostle,  1270,  Madoc,  Llewelyn,  Owen, 
and  Griffin,  sons  of  Griffin,  Lord  of  Bromfeild,  conceded 
to  the  Lady  Emma,  their  mother,  for  the  term  of  her 
life,  all  the  lands  and  tenements  which  the  said  Griffin, 
their  father,  gave  to  her  during  his  life,  viz.,  the 
country  of  Mailor  Saisenec  with  the  appurtenances,  the 
manor  of  Overton  with  the  mill  and  stream  and  all  the 
appurtenances,  the  vill  of  Hagneme  (Hanmer)  with  Ac, 
Lannerpanna  with  &c.,  Colton  with  &c.,  and  all  the  vills 
which  are  situate  in  the  country  of  Mailor  Saisenec." 

By  a  settlement  {Inq.  p.  m.,  5  Edward  I),  of  which 
the  above  is  a  confirmation,  Griffith  Maelor  gives  his 
wife  '^decern  libratas  redditus  de  Meylor  Seysnek,  et 
partem  dominicarum  de  Overton."  In  the  Salusbury 
MSS.  it  is  stated,  on  the  authority  of  John  Erthig  of 
Erthig,  that  "  Emma  Audley  had  Maelor  Saesneg  for 
her  jointure,  and  her  house  of  Emrall  was  built  for  her." 

We  cannot  at  present  quote  any  document  where  the 
name  occurs  earlier  than  1270 ;  but  as  Worthenbury 
(written  in  Domesday  Book  "  Hurdingberie")  seems  in- 
tended to  represent  the  Welsh  word  gwerdd'em=QXi 


SMRAL   IN   MAELOR   SAESNEQ.  35 

emerald,  we  conclude  that  it  is  the  translated  form  of 
an  old  name,  and  one  singularly  applicable  to  the  place. 
On  this  Welsh  border  it  is  equally  common  to  find 
British  names,  or  English  translations  of  the  original ; 
i.e.,  at  the  east  end  of  Maelor,  in  Iscoyd  : — (1)  The  Cae 
Riphen  [c?ripAew=triangular]  is  found  not  far  distant 
from  the  "  three-cornered  field",  both  being  the  lands 
set  apart  for  the  maintenance  of  the  pilgrims  who  came 
to  the  shrine  at  Maes-y-groes.  (2)  An  earlier  name  of 
the  lake  called  Han  (Sax.  A.^an=high)  mere  must  have 
been  Llyn  Bleddyn :  the  west  banks  of  it  are  still  called 
the  Blethins ;  and  the  stream  which  runs  out  of  it  was 
called,  temp.  Edward  II,  "  Wlf-bers".  (3)  In  Willing- 
ton  we  have  the  "  Three  Fingers",  where  Ed.  Lhuyd,  in 
1699,  wrote  Trowch  {ires  vici).  (4)  On  the  south-east 
of  Hanmer,  the  Tir-y-gors,  which  now  is  called  the 
Arowry  Moss.  (5)  On  the  west  side  there  was,  in  a.  d. 
1590,  the  Cwm-bers  Garowe  (Sax.),  where  now  there 
is  the  Cwm-bers  Marsh,  or  horse-pasture.  (6)  In  Bet- 
tisfield,  the  Mynydd  cwm  du,  where  Owen  Glyndower 
was  defeated  in  a.d.  1404,  became,  in  due  course,  Pan- 
meneth  (Pen  mynydd)  and  Hal  on  th'  hill.  (7)  One 
more  instance  may  be  given  in  Iscoyd,  where,  to  the 
north  of  Maes-y-groes,  there  is  a  rectangular  camp 
which  is  faintly  discernible  in  a  field  that  bears  the 
very  suggestive  name  of  **  Slaughter-Field". 

In  the  list  of  places  conceded  by  her  sons  to  the  Lady 
Emma,  Lanerch  Panna  is  another  name  for  Penley,  and 
Col-ton  for  Emral.  The  three  brooks  which  meet  in 
the  Park  are  the  Wlf-bers,  the  Panna-broc,  and  Col- 
broc.  This  last,  which  absorbs  the  others,  comes  past 
Penley  Mill  from  Clare  Pool,  which  is  half  a  mile  south 
of  Welshampton.  The  watershed  of  the  Dee  and  Severn 
is  between  Clare  Pool  and  Colmere.  There  are  strong 
springs  in  the  hill,  which  run  north  and  south ;  we  may 
therefore  conclude  that  Cole-mere  and  Col-broc  get 
their  names  from  the  same  thing, — whether  that  is  the 
hill  (collis)  from  which  they  derive  their  supplies,  or 
coK(  W.=hazel-wood),  or  coZe,  meaning  charcoal-burning. 

8* 


36  EMRAL   IN   MAELOR   SAESNEG. 

To  the  question  how  the  site  of  Emma  Audley's 
house  was  fixed  upon,  having  the  choice  of  three  other 
places,  we  can  see  that  she  might  not  care  to  be  in  close 
proximity  to  the  King's  bailiff  at  Hanmere,  nor  to  his 
clericus  axid  JirfnariiLS  manerii  at  Overton  ;  and  equally 
might  wish  to  be  in  Bangor  parish,  of  which  her  son 
Oweyn  was  rector,^  and  especially  to  have  the  protec- 
tion afforded  by  a  castle  or  tower  adjoining  her  house. 

That  there  was  such  a  tower  there  is  to  be  concluded 
from  the  circumstance,  already  mentioned,  of  the  saloon 
being  at  the  top  of  the  house.  In  the  ArchcBologia 
(vol.  iv,  pp.  411,  412)  this  point  is  made  clear, — "where 
we  find,  besides  a  keep  on  an  hill,  an  additional  tower 
communicating  with  it  by  means  of  a  gallery,  and 
drawbridge  as  at  Tunbridge.  Such  additional  tower 
had  also  magnificent  apartments  in  the  upper  stories, 
and  was  fortified.  Only  the  entrance  here  was  not  so 
carefully  secured ;  the  great  strength  of  all  being  in 
the  keep,  to  which  a  retreat  might  be  made  through 
the  gallery.  But  the  rule  of  having  state  apartments 
very  high,  and  generally  in  the  third  story,  was  invari- 
ably observed  in  all.  And  hence,  perhaps,  we  may 
account  for  an  odd  circumstance  in  some  very  magnifi- 
cent modem  houses  built  on  the  site  of  ancient  castles, 
namely,  that  the  grand  apartments  are  there  also  on 
the  third  story,  where  in  other  houses  we  find  only  the 
attic-story  and  apartments  of  an  inferior  kind.  This  is 
remarkably  the  case  at  Chatsworth  and  at  Belvoir 
Castle  ;  and  these  noble  houses  being  built  on  the  site 
of  ancient  castles,  where  the  state  rooms  were  always 
on  that  story,  this  old  custom  probably  was  preserved 
both  as  a  mark  of  ancient  dignity  and  as  proof  of  their 
original.'' 

Th^  Rector  of  Worthenbury  informs  me  that  there 
wa43  such  a  tower  formerly  at  Emral  (or  Colton) ;  and 
the  question  we  ask  is,"  Why  was  it  placed  there  ?"  The 
answer  is, "  To  guard  an  industry."  Part  of  Emral  Park 
is  in  Hanmer  parish,  and  beara  the  name  in  the  Inqui- 

^  Powyi  Fadogy  i,  p.  172,  and  G.  T.  0.  Bridgeman's  Princes  of 
South  Wales,  p.  251  (n.). 


EMRAL  IN   MABLOR  SAESNEG.  37 

sitions  of  "  Menkes  ffeiW,  taking  us  back  to  the  days 
of  Bangor  Monastery.  That  field  is  part  of  the  town- 
ship of  Halghton,  formerly  written  "  Halchdyn";  from 
which  name  we  conclude  that  a  tower  once  stood  at 
the  place  now  called  Halghton  Hall  to  guard  the  salt* 
trade,  the  salt  springs  extending  down  the  valley  of 
the  Elfe  as  far  as  Worthenbury. 

The  tower  at  Colton  seems  to  have  been  erected  in 
order  to  guard  the  cloth-mills  that  are  found  here.  In 
earlier  times  Bangor  had  been  defended  on  its  eastern 
side  by  three  lines  of  earthworks,  which  are  found  at 
regular  intervals  in  the  three  valleys  which  cut  Maelor 
through  from  north  to  south,  and  which  began  and 
ended  in  impassable  forests.  Alon^  these  lines  the 
name  **  Gwergloth*'  ( W.  gwarchrglawad*=BJi  entrench- 
ment) occurs  again  and  again,  and  at  certain  points  the 
ramparts  can  still  be  traced. 

These  towers  belong  to  a  later  age.  A  large  part  of 
Emral  Park,  on  the  east  side  of  Col-broc,  bears  the 
name  of  Maes  y  Pandy.  One  of  the  three  brooks  which 
meet  above  Emral  was  called,  temp.  Edward  III,  the 
"  Panna  Broc".     It  runs  down  from  Llanerch  Panna. 

^  In  The  Globe  for  December  29,  1887,  is  the  following :— "  The 
English  language  is  computed  to  be  composed,  roughly  speaking,  of 
40,000  words,  of  which  29,000  are  of  Latin  origin,  mostly  through 
Norman  French ;  the  remaining  14,000  are  of  Teutonic  extraction. 
Of  this  store  the  roots  are  insignificantly  few.  Take,  for  one  ex- 
ample, what  I  have  already  used  elsewhere,  the  word  sdl  (salt), 
which  enters  so  largely  into  our  vocabulary.  To  track  the  history 
of  this  word  is  to  discover  that  salt  was,  in  pnmitive  times,  esteemed 
above  all  other  earthly  possessions.  The  ancient  greeting,  '  Salve  V 
is,  '  May  you  have  salt !'  Salary  is  the  wherewithal  to  procure 
salt ;  a  sale  is  a  barter  for  salt,  and  selling  a  negotiation  for  salt. 
To  say  a  man  '*  earns  his  salt"  is  to  say  he  gets  his  living.  When 
we  pronounce  a  place  to  be  salubrious,  what  do  we  -  mean  but  that 
it  abounds  with  salt  ?  To  salute  a  man  is  to  express  a  hope  he  has 
enough  salt.  To  be  in  safety  is  to  be  in  reach  of  salt.  A.  saviour 
is  ouly  another  word  for  one  able  and  willing  to  furnish  us  with  the 
salt  which  all  need,  and  salvation  is  the  happy  condition  of  possess- 
ing as  much  salt  as  is  required.  In  like  way  every  word  is  to  be 
traced  to  its  root.     Given  the  root,  the  rest  will  follow.** 

*  I  am  indebted  to  the  Rev.  D.  Silvan  Evans  for  this  word. 


38  EMRAL  IN  MAELOR  SAESNEG. 

Upon  it  there  is  still  a  place  called  the  Pandy,  where 
there  are  three  wells,  and  where  there  was  a  cloth- 
mill.  Going  up  the  Wlf-bers,  at  the  place  called  Ty 
Craig,  there  was  the  Walk,  ot  Lyth  Mill ;  above  it  a 
paper-mill;  and  still  higher  up  another,  called,  temp. 
Elizabeth,  "  the  Olde  Mill",  probably  for  grinding  corn. 
To  the  north  of  Overton  are  Carreg  y  Francod  (Stone  of 
the  Frenchmen)  and  Three-a-Penny  (?  "  Tre  y  Panna"). 

The  Rev.  D.  S.  Evans  informs  me  that  the  word 
"  Ffranc"  occurs  in  the  early  Welsh  MSS.  Taking 
these  names  together  with  the  two  Franktons*  in  North 
Salop,  we  seem  to  discover  that  there  were  at  a  very 
early  date  Frankish  settlers  who  brought  to  Maelor 
certain  manufactures,  as  at  a  later  period  happened  to 
Tenby.  In  the  Cheshire  Domesday  account  of  Hurd- 
ingberie,  a.d.  1086,  it  appears  that  there  were  at  that 
date  "  tres  Francigense"  in  the  manor. 

It  is  matter  of  history  how  Baldwin,  Count  of 
Flanders,  sent  men  to  Northumberland  in  order  to 
assist  the  Norman  William.  The  le  Fleming  family,  of 
Coniston  and  Rydal,  represent  and  confirm  that  fact ; 
but  the  Francigense  of  Domesday  seem  to  point  to  an 
earlier  settlement.  At  the  north  end  of  Emral  Park, 
an  ancient  road  crosses  the  stream  at  a  place  called 
Turpin's  Ford.  In  the  Gests  of  Charlemagne,  King  of 
the  Franks,  bom  a.d.  742,  we  read,  in  cap.  21 :  "Turpin 
by  the  grace  of  God,  Archbishop  of  Rheims,  and 
constant  companion  of  the  emperor  Charlemagne,  sends 
greeting,  etc.  For  this  end  you  requested  of  me, 
when  I  was  in  Vienne,  weak  from  scars  and  wounds, 
to  write  to  you,"  etc.  '*  Turpin",  writes  Professor 
Earle,  **  was  a  name  familiar  to  Francigense.''  In  Domes- 
day Book  Hurdingberie  was  found  waste,  and  was 
paying  305.  rent,  as  against  12  orae  (205.)  in  the  time 
of  King  Edward.  There  was  a  new  mill  there.  This 
is  what  we  should  expect  after  the  Danish  invasion  of 
the  previous  century,  the  effects  of  which  were  especially 

^  See  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle  for  A.D.  780.     "  This  year  the  Old- 
Saxons  and  the  Franks  fought." 


EMRAL  IN  MAELOB  SAESKEG.  39 

felt  by  Overton  and  Worthenbury.  We  gather  this 
for  one  reason  among  others,  that  they  seem  anciently 
to  have  been  parishes,  and  had  townships  of  their  own, 
but  after  the  Danish  incursion  to  have  been  dependent 
upon  the  mother  church  of  Bangor.  In  Ministers' 
Accounts  for  the  County  of  Fflynt,  19  and  20  Edward 
IV,  Roger  Puleston  has  two  grain-mills  in  the  vill  of 
Worthenbury,  and  in  the  same  vill  a  fuUing-miU.  In 
the  29th  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  an  Inq.  p.  m.  6nds  that 
Roger  Puleston  was  seized  of  two  water  com- mills  in 
Worthenbury,  and  amongst  other  lands  of  a  field  called 
Kae'r  Velin  =  the  field  of  the  mill.  The  fulUng- 
mill,  however,  is  now  noted  as  being  in  Halghton, 
where  a  place  called  the  Fandy  still  remains,  just 
above  the  park  on  the  south  side.  In  the  early 
Registers  of  Hanmer  there  are  names  of  people,  some 
of  whom  were  certaiiily,  and  others  probably,  attracted 
to  the  neighbourhood  by  the  cloth  trade.  Roger  and 
Bartholomew  Keay  came  from  Yorkshire.  Roger  Gott 
is  married  at  Hanmer  in  1563  ;  the  Roan  (or  Rone) 
family  are  dyers  ;  and  Richard  Ridgway  comes  from 
Cheshire  to  the  Pandy  in  Halghton. 

The  Rev.  D.  S.  Evans  suggests  that  jpanna  may  be  the 
Welsh  6annat^=erainenoes,  hills.  Mr.  W.  B.  M.  Thoy ts 
has  favoured  me  with  a  plan  of  Emral,  the  chapel,  stables, 
etc.,  in  which  the  miU  is  placed  at  some  little  distance 
below  the  house  on  the  left  bank  of  Col-broc.  This  may 
have  been  its  situation  in  recent  times,  when  converted 
into  a  corn-mill ;  but  an  older  site^  would  seem  to  have 
been  the  north-west  corner  of  the  present  kitchen-garden, 
to  which  the  water  was  conveyed  from  the  weir,  which  is 
at  some  distance  from  the  house,  higher  up  the  stream, 
by  a  direct  channel  which  may  have  been  tunneled  for 
part  of  its  course.   The  same  supply  kept  the  moat  ad- 

^  This  is  confirmed  by  the  name  "  Mill-Field*'  for  that  part  of  the 
park  which  adjoins  the  gardens  to  the  west.  A  '*  mill-garden"  also 
was  beside  the  chapel,  which  stood  at  some  distance  from,  bat  oppo- 
site to,  the  north  window  of  the  dining-room.  This  chapel  was 
palled  down  aboat  1774. 


40  EMRAL   IN   MAELOB  SAESNEG. 

joining  the  house  and  other  pools  clean  and  fresh  down 
to  1862.  When  the  water  above  the  weir  filled  the 
banks,  and  formed  a  lake,'  along  which  the  kingfisher 
and  water-ouzel  would  dart  now  and  again,  while 
every  bush  in  that  charming  grove  had  its  own  song- 
bird, the  whole  must  have  seemed  a  complete  TrapoSei^o?. 
As  the  question  is  still  asked,  why  Emral  was 
placed  on  such  low  ground  (from  which  the  Broxton 
Hills  and  Malpas  can  alone  be  seen),  we  reply,  that 
anciently  houses  were  so  placed  for  the  sake  of  shelter ; 
but  there  was  another  reason  in  this  case,  and  one 
which  is  no  doubt  the  key  to  the  whole  situation. 
The  approach  to  the  house  from  the  Whitchurch  Road 
crosses  a  willow-bed  (formerly  a  lake),  then  passes 
along  a  noble  avenue  of  elms,  and  a  roadway  lined  on 
each  side  with  fine  stabling  and  coach-houses,  and  so 
over  the  Col-broc  by  a  bridge  to  the  east  front.  On 
the  north  side  of  the  avenue  is  a  large  Roman  camp, 
which  may  be  represented  in  the  name  "  KaeV  Velin". 
The  reason  why  the  park  on  the  right  bank  is  called 
Maes  y  Pandy  may  be  because  the  original  fulling-mill 
was  on  that  side  ^e  stream.  Roman  camps  were  gene- 
rally upon  low-lying  ground.  At  a  short  distance  below 
this  one  there  is  a  water- worn  rift  m  the  bank,  just  such 
as  might  be  expected  below  a  mill.  On  the  east  side  of 
the  camp  is  a  depression,  which  once  seems  to  have 
been  filled  with  water,  which  would  no  doubt  flow  into 
it  by  proper  channels  from  innumerable  springs  in  the 
long  bank  that  slopes  down  from  Burton's  Wood.  We 
have  expressed  the  opinion  above,  that  Emral  is  the 
translated  form  of  Worthen  (gwerdd- em  =  an  emerald) ; 
also,  that  Emral  is  the  older  situation  we  have  no 
doubt;  for  this  reason,  among  others,  that  1800  years 
ago  Worthenbury  would  often  be  under  water  when 
the  camp  at  EmraP  was  high  and  dry.     Add  to  this 

^  There  were  two  other  lakes  between  this  one  and  Turpin's  Ford, 
and  the  stones  and  bricks  of  which  the  dams  were  built  may  be  seen 
in  the  banks  of  Col-broc. 

2  It  confirms  this  view  when  we  find  that  43  acres  of  the  demesne, 


.EMRAL  IN  MAELOR  SAESNEO.  41 

the  number  of  Roman  ways  which  concentrate  upon 
the  place,  and  we  find  at  once  that  its  importance 
must  have  been  considerable.  The  Lion  Lane,  by 
Penley  (i.e.,  the  road  leading  to  Caer  Legionura,  or 
Holt),  passing  by  Haich-dyn,  and  a  square  camp  called 
the  Gard,  bears  directly  upon  it ;  another  is  the  road 
now  called  Halghton  Lane,  of  which  one  branch  left 
the  "  direct  Watling  Street"  one  mile  and  a  half  south- 
east of  Hanmer,  and  another  left  it  one  mile  and  a 
half  north  of  Hanmer,  and,  after  becoming  one,  and 
passing  various  encampments,  bears  direct  upon  Emral ; 
another  road,  coming  from  Wallington  Lane,  seems  to 
go  east  through  Burton's  Wood ;  another — along  which 
coal-carts  went  within  the  last  hundred  years — started 
from  Eglwys  y  groes,  and,  passing  the  Old  Hall, 
Willington  Cross,  Mulsford  and  Emral,  entered  Bangor 
by  High  Gate.  The  road  which  crossed  the  Col-broc 
at  Turpin's  Ford  was  the  regular  approach  to  Bangor 
from  the  Sarn,  proceeding  along  Wallington  Lane  to 
the  Dwngre  Gate ;  then  the  Lion  Lane  proceeds  from 
Emral  along  a  lane,  still  there,  to  the  Queen  s  Ford, 
where  it  is  said  that  Queen  Eleanor  crossed  the  river 
Elfe;  another  road  leads  to  Worthenbury,  and  direct 
to  Shocklach,  across  the  meadows,  when  the  water 
would  allow  of  it ;  but  this  must  have  been  in  much 
later  times. 

The  form  of  the  moat  (not  square  with  the  house  at 
the  north-west  corner,  but  coming  short  of  it  by  some 
12  ft.),  which  protects  the  west  and  south  sides  of  the 
house,  seems  to  confirm  the  suggestion  that  a  tower 
stood  at  the  north  end,  and  that  a  road,  with  the  stream 
in  front  of  it,  protected  the  east  front.  Many  similar 
instances  of  houses  so  protected  occur  in  Maelor. 

I  am  much  indebted  to  Mr.  B,.  P.  Ethelston  for  the 
loan  of  photographs,  from  one  of  which  the  view  of 
Emral  on  the  west  side  has  been  taken.  The  plan  of 
the  house  and  its  surroundings  is  taken  from  the  15  in. 
Ordnance  Map,  with  some  additions. 

called  Maes  Emral,  lie  on  the  right  bank  of  Col-broc,  to  the  east  of 
the  square  camp. 


42 


LLYFR   SILIN 

YN  CYNNWYS  ACHAU  AMRYW  DEULUOEDD 
YN  NGWYNEDD,  POWYS,  ETC. 

(^Continued  from  Vol.  iv,  p,  816.) 


GARTHERYR. 

Plant  Owen  ap  Gniffydd  ap  Dafydd  fychan  o  Annes 
verch  Rys  ap  Einion  fychan  oedd  Sir  Dafydd 
Owen,^  rerson  Nannerch,  Kanonwr  o  Llanelwy 
a  Vikar  Eglwysfach ;  Elizabeth  Owen  gwraig 
Ffoulke  Salsbri  ap  Pirs  Salsbri ;  a  Mared  verch 
Owen  gwraig  Thomas  ap  leuan  ap  Rys  o  Arth- 
garmon. 
Reinallt  ap  Moris  ap  Gruffydd  ap  Dafydd  fychan  ap 
Dafydd  ap  Madoc  Kyffin. 

[/«  FarU  Philip  MS.,  Hugh  of  Gartheryr  ap  Beinallt,  etc. 
—I.  M.] 

Mam  Reinallt  oedd  Annes  verch  Siankin  ap  Rys  ap 
Howel  ap  Madoc  ap  Tudr  ap  Gronw  ap  Gruffydd 
ap  Madoc  ap  lor  worth  ap  Madoc  ap  Ririd 
Flaidd. 

Mam  Annes  oed  Margred  verch  Howel  ap  lolyn  ap 
leuan  Gethin  ap  y  Kyffin. 

Mam  Margred  oedd  Morfydd  verch  leuan  Lloyd  ap 
Dafydd  ap  Gruffydd  ap  Ali  ap  leuan  fychan  ap 
leuan  ap  Heilin  ap  leuan  ap  Adda  o  Fochnant. 

Mam  Howel  ap  lolyn  oedd  Myfanwy  verch  Howel  ap 
Ednyfed  Gam  o  Nantheudwy. 

Mam  Siankyn  ap  Rys  ap  Howel  oedd  Gwerfyl  verch 
leuan  Kruch  ap  Siankin  o  Ardudwy  ap  leuan 
ap  Adda  goch  ap  Edward  ap  Ednyfed  ap  lor- 

1  Rector  of  Llandoget,  1534-37  ;  Rector  of  Nannerch,  1537-68 ; 
Prebendary  of  Meifod,  in  St.  Asaph  Cathedral,  1534-58. 


LLTFR  SI  LIN.  43 

w,rth  goch  ap  Tyfya  ap  Aase.  .p  S.i«„n.  ap 

Gwyn. 
Mam  Moris  ap  Gruflfydd  oedd  Tibot  verch  Meredydd 

ap  Tudr  ap  Gronw  ap  Howel  y  gadair  ap  Madoc 

ap  lorwerth  ap  Madoc  ap  Rind  Flaidd. 
Mam  Tibod  oedd  verch  leuan   ap  Tudr   ap 

GrufFydd  Lloyd  ap  Heilin  Frych :  chwaer  Tudr 

ap  leuan  o  Ferain. 
Mam  Madoc  ap  Ririd  Flaidd  oedd  Gwenllian  verch 

Ednyfed  ap  Kynfrig  ap  Rhiwallon  ap  Dyngad 

ap  Tudr  Trefor. 
Mam  Gwenllian  oedd  Wladys  verch  Elidr  ap  Owen 

ap  Edwin. 

CEFNHIR.    MOCHITANT. 

Plant  Howel  ap  Gruflfydd  ap  Howel  ap  Madoc  ap  lor- 
werth goch  o  Fared  verch  leuan  ap  Howel  ap 
lolyn  ap  leuan  Gethin,  chwaer  un  fam  un  dad 
a  Moris  ap  leuan  ap  Howel,  oedd  Lewis  ap 
Howel,  Owen  ap  Howel,  a  Gwen  verch  Howel 
gwraig  Dafydd  y  Glyn,  brawd  Lewis  Kyffin. 
leuan  ap  Howel  oedd  fab  Howel  ap  Gruffydd 
o  gariadferch,  medd  rhai,  tad  Dafydd  ap  leuan 
ap  Howel  o  Langadwaladr. 

Mam  Owen  ap  Howel  oedd  Gwenhwyfar  verch  Dafydd 
ap  leuan  bach  ap  Einion  o'r  Rhiwlas  yn  Nghyn- 
Ueth ^  (oedd  Sion,  leuan,  a  Robert ;  Gwen- 
hwyfar gwraig  Rys  ap  leuan  ap  Dafydd  o  Gwm 
Nantfyllon ;  Mallt,  Elsbeth,  ac  un  arall  a  elwyd 
Sina  gwraig  Dafydd  ap  Cadwaladr). 

Ac  o'i  gariadferch  y  bu  leuan  ;  ac  Ales  gwraig  Llew. 
ap  leuan  ap  Llew.  o  Gynlleth;  a  Margred  verch 
Owen  gwraig  Thomas  ap  Dafydd  ap  Deio  o 
Llangedwyn. 

Gwraig  Owen  ap  Howel  oedd  Lowri  verch  Rys  ap 
leuan  ap  Llew.  medd  rhai.* 

*  Mac  rhy w  gamgymeriad  yn  y  man  hyn  trwy  wall  eirian. — I.  M. 
■  Edrych  a  fu  dwy  wraig  i  Owen  ap  Howel. — I.  M. 


44  LLTFR  SILIN. 


BODFACH  NEU  LLANBRCH  Y  AER. 

Plant  Dafydd  ap  William  ap  Meredydd  ap  lolyn  ap 
leuan  Gethin  o  Lowri  verch  Sion  ap  Siankin 
fychan,  chwaer  oedd  hi  i  Gruflfydd  Lloyd  ap 
Siankin  o  Fodfach,  oedd  Lewis  ap  Dafydd  ap 
William,  a  Hugh  ap  Dafydd ;  ac  o  fetched 
Kattrin  gwraig  Sion  Thomas  ap  Rys  ap  Gutyn, 
Gwen,  Margred,  a  Sina. 

Plant  Kattrin  o  Sion  Thomas  ap  Rys  oedd  Lowri 
verch  ac  etifeddes,  gwraig  Richard  Wynn  o  Fod- 

Ac  i  Dafydd  ap  William  y  bu  o'i  gariadferch  Sion 
Wynn  ap  Dafydd  ap  William  o  Llanfihangel 
yn  Ngwynfa. 

Plant  William  ap  Meredydd  ap  lolyn  o'i  briod  oedd 
Dafydd  ap  William,  Sion  ap  William,  a  Thomas 
ap  William  ;  ac  un  ferch  a  elwyd  Mared  verch 
William  ;  a'u  mam  oedd  Gwerfyl  verch  Thomas 
ap  Dafydd  fychan. 

Ac  o'i  gariadferch  y  bu  Harri  ap  William. 

Plant  Sion  ap  William  ap  Meredydd  o'i  briod  oedd 
1  William,  2  Dafydd,  3  Cadwaladr,  4  Sion, 
5  Thomas,  6  ac  Ales :  a'u  mam  oedd  Cattrin 
verch  Ednyfed  ap  Gruffydd  o'r  Hendwr  yn 
Ydeirnion. 

Plant  Harri  ap  William  uchod  oedd  Sion  Parry,  a 
Moris  ap  Harri ;  Kattrin,  Mared,  ac  Ann. 

Plant  Sion  ap  Harri  oedd  William  ap  Sion  ap  Harri ; 
Mr.  Hugh  Parry,^  Person  Llanarmon  Dyflfryn 
Keiriog ;  GruflPydd  ap  Sion  ap  Harri ;  William, 
ac  Edward ;  ac  o  ferched  Kattrin,  Mawd,  limia, 
Ann,  ac  Ales ;  a'u  mam  oedd  Ales  verch  Ffoulke 
ap  Moris  o  Blwy  Llanfyllin. 

*  Rector  of  Llanarmon  Dyffryn  Ceiriog,  1619-42. 


LLYFR  SILIN.  45 


LLORAN  UCHAF. 

Moris  ap  Meredydd  ap  leuan  ap  Rys  ap  Dafydd  ap 
Howel  ap  Gruffjdd  ap  leuan  Gethin  ap  Madoc  Kyffin, 
kc. 

Mam  Moris  ap  Meredydd  oedd  Ales  verch  Gruffydd 
Lloyd  ap  leuan  apGruflfydd  fychan  apGruflFydd 
ap  leuan  ap  HeiUn  ap  leuan  ap  Adda. 

Matn  Ales  oedd  Margred  verch  leuan  ap  Gruffydd 
ap  Howel  ap  Madoc  ap  lorwerth  goch  o  Foch- 
nant.     Fel  Trewem. 

Mam  leuan  ap  Gruffydd  ap  Howel  oedd  ...  verch 
Dafydd  fychan  ap  Dafydd  ap  Madoc  KyflRn  ap 
Madoc  Goch. 

Mam  Meredydd  ap  leuan  ap  Rys  oedd  Mali  verch 
Deio  ap  Sienkin.* 

Mam  Mali  oedd verch  Gruffydd  ap  leuan  fy- 
chan ap  leuan  Gethin  ap  Madoc  Kyffin. 

Mam  leuan  ap  Rys  oedd  Mallt  verch  GruflFydd  ap 
leuan  ap  Madoc^  ap  leuan  fychan  ap  Heilin. 

Plant  Meredvdd  ap  leuan  ap  Rys  o  Ales  verch 
Greffydd  Lloyd  Uchod  oedd  Moris,  Sion,  leuan 
a  Gruffydd,  ac  o  ferched  Margred  gwraig  Dafydd 
ap  Howel  ap  Madoc  o  Llanarmon  Mynydd 
Mawr ;  Mared  gwraig  Edward  ap  Richard  ap 
Madoc  0  Trefonen  ;  Kattrin  gwraig  Cadwaladr 
ap  Owen ;  Sian  gwraig  Robert  ap  Howel  ap 
Owen;  Ales  gwraig  Dafydd  Lloyd  ap  Meredydd 
o  Ddeuddwr ;  Elizabeth  gwraig  Robert  Lloyd 
o  Llanarmon  ac  Ann  gwraig  Sion  Dafydd  fy- 
chan 0  Eunant,  mam  Edward  Wynn  oedd  hi.' 

Ac  o'r  wraiff  gyntaf  Meredydd  ap  leuan  ap  Rys  bu 
Dafydd  ap  Meredydd  ;  ac  i  Dafydd  ap  Mare- 
dydd  y  bu  Moris,  a  Chattrin  gwraig  Owen  ap 
Dafydd  ap  Meredydd  o  Bennant,  mam  Robert 
ap  Owen. 

*  To  Idnerth  Benfras  {Powys  Fadog,  vol.  iv,  p.  239). 
«  Of  Cwmwr  in  Himant  (^Powys  Fadog,  vol.  iv,  p.  239). 
»  Arch.  Camh.,  vol.  iv,  5th  Series,  1887,  p.  309. 


46  LLYFR  SILIN. 

Plant  leuan  ap  Rys  oedd  Llew.  a  Meredydd ;  ac  i 
Llew.  y  bu  Moris  ap  Llew.  tad  Hugh  ap  Moris 
ap  Llew.  o  Gefnhir. 

Plant  Moris  ap  Meredydd  o  Sina  verch  Thomas  ap 
Reinallt  ap  Gruffydd  ap  Howel  oeddynt  Ed- 
ward (a  briododd  Blanse  verch  ...^  Corbet  o  Li 
a  bu  iddynt  Elinor  Morris  etifeddes,  a  briododd 
Daniel  Moris  a  bu  iddynt  fab  a  merch  Edward 
Morris  a  Sara  Morris,  ac  ar  ol  marw  Daniel  y 
priododd  hi  John  Royden  o  Faelor,  a  bu  iddynt 
lawer  o  blant) ;  Hugh  Moris,  Thomas  Moris, 
mort ;  Robert  Moris,  mort ;  David  Moris,  Oliver 
Moris,  William  Moris,  Richard  Moris,  ac  An- 
drew Moris*  Deon  Llanelwy;  ac  o  ferched,  Gwen 
fwraig  Robert  ap  Sion  ap  Dafydd  ap  Rhys  o 
ilanfechan,  ac  ni  bu  iddynt  ond  merched ; 
Margred  gwraig  Moris  ap  Howel  ap  Rys  o'r 
Hen  Fache  (a  bu  iddynt  Edward  Moris, 
Oliver  Moris'  Prelad,  Robert  Moris,  Daniel 
Moris,  mort ;  ac  o  ferched  Kattrin  gwraig  John 
Ffoulke  o  Llandrillo,  Elin  gwraig  Edward 
Jones  0  Esquennan,  a  gwraig  Moris  ap  Reinallt 
o  Llanarmon  Mynydd  Mawr,  a  merched  a  fu 
iddynt  a  gwraig  Thomas  Roberts  o  Dalybont); 
Ann  gwraig  John  Blodwel  marsiandwr  o  Groes 
OswaJlt,  a  bu  iddynt  feibion  a  merched  lawer ; 
Elin  gwraig  Oliver  Lloyd*  o  Lloran  isaf,  ac 
iddynt  y  bu  Thomas  Lloyd,  William  Lloyd, 
Edward  Lloyd,  a  Moris,  mort ;  ac  o  ferched 
Thomasin,  Abi,  a  Kattrin  Lloyd,  Mary  gwraig 
Oliver  Lloyd  ap  Dafydd  Lloyd  o  Gastell  Moch, 
ac  iddynt  y  bu  Robert  Lloyd  a  eraill. 

Plant  Dafydd  Morifi  o  Kattrin  Mule  oedd  Edward 

*  Thomas  Corbet  {Hist,  of  Powys  Fadog,  iv,  p.  241). 

*  A.M.  of  Oriel  College ;  Dean  of  St.  Asaph,  1634 ;  deprived  dar- 
ing the  Commonwealth  ;  died  c.  1663. 

*  Rector  of  Llanbedr  Dyffryn  Clwyd,  164- ;  deprived  during  the 
Commonwealth. 

*  Arch.  Camh.,  vol.  iv,  6th  Series,  1887,  p.  311. 


LLYFR  SILIN.  47 

Moris  ;  Tamasin  gwraig  Lloyd  Pyrce ;  a  Siw- 
san  gwraig  Thomas  J^naston  o  Lundain  ap 
Edward  Kjnaston  o  Fortyn. 

Plant  Hugh  Morris  o  Joyce  verch  Thomas  Loker^  o 
Wenlock  oedd  Daniel  Moris,  a  briododd  Elin 
verch  ac  aeres  Edward  Morris  fel  o'r  blaen ;  ac 
Abigail  a  briododd  Francis  Smallman  o  Wilder- 
hope  gylch  Wenlock  yn  Sir  y  Mwythyg. 

Plant  Oliver  Maurice  o  Ales  verch  ac  aeres  Moris  ap 
Lewis  Kyffin  o  Llangedwyn  oedd  Thomas 
Moris,  Edward  Moris  a  Dorithy  gwraig  William 
Moody  o  Llanfechan,  a  Cattrin  gwraig  William 
Lloyd  0  Lantanat ;  Mary  gwraig  Oliver  Sieffre 
o'r  Brithdir ;  Margred  gwraig  Rys  ap  Edward 
o'r  Efelwag ;  a  Siwsan  gwraig  Thomas  Jones 
ap  Dafydd  ap  John  ap  Grufifydd  o  Llanymblod- 
wel  ac  Elin  mort. 

Plant  William  Morris  o  Margred  verch  Thomas 
Evans  o  Groes  Oswallt  ei  wraig  gyntaf  oedd 
Ann  gwraig  Eondl  Eddowes  o  Ty  Broughton, 
ac  Elinor  gwraig  Robert  Evans  o  Griketh. 

Ac  o'i  wraig  ddiwetha  Sarah  Eytyn,*  chwaer  Sir 
Gerard  Eytyn  y  bu  iddo  dri  mab  sef  Hugh, 
David  a  John. 

Plant  Richard  Moris  o  Ales  verch  ac  aeres  Moris  ap 
John  ap  Owen  ap  Howel  o  Gefnir,  oedd  Theo- 
dor  Moris  a  thair  merch,  un  a  briododd  leuan 

G wyn  o  Gegidfa  :  un  arall  a  briododd yn 

Kedewen  a  Sian  a  briododd  John  ap  Roger 
Wynn  o  IftL 

ESGWENNAN,1661. 

Robert  Jones  ap  Edward  Jones  ap  Robert  ap  Sion 
ap  Thomas  ap  Lewis  ap  Llew.  ap  Moris  goch.* 

^  Lotbier  ?.     She  was  sister  of  Francis  Lothier. 

•  Danghter  of  Cjnwrig  Eytyn  of  Eyton,  near  Bhaabon,  and 
Elizabeth,  danghter  of  Sir  Richard  Brooke  of  Norton  Priory,  co. 
Chester. 

*  Robert  Jones  o,  8.  p.,  and  his  lands  fell  to  his  nncle,  John  Jones. 
— 1.  M.     See  p.  49. 


48  LLYFR  SILIN. 

Mam  Robert  Jones  oedd  Elin  verch  Moris  ap  Howel 

ap  Rys  ap  leuan  ap  Llewelin  o'r  Henfache. 
Mam  Elen  oedd  Margred  verch  Moris  ap  Meredydd 

ap  leuan  ap  Rys.     Cais  Ach  Lloran  ucha.^ 
Mam    Moris    ap   Howel   oedd   Gwenhwyfar   verch 

Robert  ap  Reinallt  ap  GrufFydd  ap  Rys  ap 

leuan  ap  Llew.  ddu  o'r  Deirnion. 
Mam  Edward  Jones  oedd  Ales  verch  Owen  ap  Sion 

ap  leuan  ap  Rys  ap  Gronw  ap  Kynfrig. 
Mam  Ales  verch  Owen  oedd  Sabel  verch  Meredydd 

ap  Gronw  ap  Gruffydd  Gethin. 
Mam  Robert  ap  Sion  oedd  Margred  Lloyd  verch 

Robert   Lloyd   ap   Dafydd    Lloyd   o    Bias   is 

Klawdd*   ap   Sion   Edward    ap    lorwerth   ap 

leuan  ap  Adda.     Cais  Ach  Sion  Edward  o  r 

Waun. 
Mam  Margred  Lloyd  oedd  Kattrin  verch  Edward  ap 

Rhys  ap  Dafydd  ap  Gwilym.    Cais  Ach  Eg- 

Iwyseg. 
Mam  Robert  Lloyd  oedd  Gwenhwyfar  verch  Robert 

ap  Gruffydd  ap  Rys  ap  Dafydd  ap  Howel  o 

Ddinmael. 
Mam  Sion  ap  Thomas  ap  Lewis  oedd  Mary  verch 

Richard  ap  Meredydd  ap  Howel  ap  Moris  ap 

leuan  Getnin  ap  Madoc  KyflSn. 
Mam  Mary  verch  Richard  ap  Meredydd  oedd  Goleu- 

bryd  verch  Gruffydd  ap  Meredydd  fychan  ap 

Gruffydd  ap  Meredyda  ap  Howel   ap  Philip 

Dorddu  ap  Howel  ap  Madoc  ap  Trahaiam  ap 

Madoc.      Ail   wraig   oedd    hi    i    Richard    ap 

Meredydd. 
Mam  Goleubryd  oedd  Elin  verch  William  ap  Sion  ap 

Llew.  ddu. 
Mam  Gruffydd   ap  Meredydd   fychan  oedd  Mawd 

verch  Gruffydd  ap  Nicholas  ap  Philip  ap  Elidr 

ddu. 
Mam  Thomas  ap  Lewis  oedd  Marred  verch  Madoc, 

*  See  p.  46.  •  In  Chirk  parish. 


LLYFR  SILTN.  49 

chwaer  Howel  ap  Madoc  tad  Dafydd  ap  Howel 
ap  Madoc  o  Llaiiarmon  Mynydd  Mawr. 

Mam  Moris  goch  oedd  Margred  verch  Llewelyn  ap 
Gruflfydd  fychan  o  Ddeuddwr. 

Mam  Llew.  ap  Gruffydd  ap  leuan  oedd  Mawd  verch 
GruflFyth  ap  Rys  fychan  o  Geri. 

Mam  Gruffydd  ap  leuan  oedd  Gwenhwjrfar  verch 
Gruff,  ap  Alo,  Yaw. 

Mam  leuan  ap  Madoc  oedd  Arddyn  verch  ac  etifeddes 
Rys  ap  Aaron  ap  Bledri.  (Knight  of  the  Sepul- 
chre.) 

ESGWBNNAN. 

John  Jones  (1668)  ap  John  Jones  ap  Robert  ap  Sion 
ap  Thomas  ap  Lewis  ap  Llew.  ap  Moris  goch  o'r  Dre- 
lydan  yn  Mhlwyf  Cegidfa  ap  John  ap  Gruflfydd  ap  leuan 
ap  Madoc  ap  Kadwgan  Wenwys. 

Mam  John  Jones  yw  Margred  verch  Edward  Moris 
ap  Howel  ap  Rys  ap  leuan  ap  Llewelyn  o'r 
Henfache.^ 
Mam  Margred  oedd  Jane  verch  John  Matthews  o 

Flodwel. 
Mam  Jane  oedd  Sina^  verch  ac  etifeddes  Moris  Tanad 

ap  Robert  Tanad  o  Flodwel. 
Mam  Sina  oedd  Margred  verch  Thomas  ap  Owen  ap 
Gruffydd   ap  leuan   ap  Eys  o'r  Plas  Du   yn 
Efionydd. 
[The  sons  of  Robert  ap  Sion  ap  Thomas  uchod  were 
Edward   (p.    47),   .John,    Thomas   Jones,    and    Moris 
Jones ;  and  he  had  a  dr.,  Elinor,  married  to  Jeffrey  ap 
Grifl&th  ap  Lewis  ap  Owen  ap  Madoc  of  Golfa.  Thomas 
Jones,  third  son  of  Robert  ap  Sion,  married  Mary,  dr. 
of  Richard  ap  John  ap  Moris. — L  M.] 

RHIWLAS  YN  NGHYNLLETH. 
John  Davies  ap  Edward  Davies'  ap  Dafydd  ap  Ed- 

*  In  Llanrhaiadr  yn  Mochnant.  ■  ?  Sian. 

'  Bom  Feb.  20th,  1618  ;  bnried  at  Llanailin,  Monday,  March  14, 
1680. 

5th  ser.,  vol.  v.  4 


50  LLYFR  SILIN. 

ward  a.p  Dafydd  ap  leuan  ap  Dafydd  ap  leuan  bach  ap 
Einion  ap  Howel  ap  Kynfrig  ap  Llew.  ap  Madoc  ap 
leuan  ap  Llew.  ap  Kynfrig  ap  Ririd  ap  Riwallon  ap 
Cynfyn  ap  Gwerystan  ap  Gwaithfoed. 

Mam  John  Davies  ydyw  Margred  verch  William 
Lloyd  ap  Rolant  ap  Thomas  ap  Gruffydd  o 
Goed  y  Rhygin  o  Drawsfynydd  ap  Siankyn  ap 
Rys  ap  Tudr  ap  Meredydd  ap  Gruffydd  Llwyd 
ap  Llewelyn  ap  Llowarch  ap  Bran.  Cais  Ach 
Rhiwgoch. 
Mam  Margred  oedd  Elizabeth  verch  William  Mor- 
gan ap  Sion  ap  Rhydderch  ap  Ithel  ap  lorwerth 
ap  Einion  (a  ladded  pan  oedd  Sirif  yn  Sir  Feir- 
ionydd  ar  Ddydd  Gwyl  Ffair  yn  Llandrillo  a 
Dafydd  ap  leuan  ap  Einion  ei  gefnder  a'i  Uadd- 
odd)  ap  Llew.  ap  Kynfrig  ap  Osber  Wyddel. 

Ni  bn  nn  Ffair  mor  ffrwythlon  o  fewn  Edeimion  Dir 
Era  naw  ngain  ml jnedd  pan  laddod  Siri  y  Sir ; 
Daiydd  ap  lenan  ap  Einion  oedd  yno  'n  Benaeth  mawr, 
O  acbos  hwn  a'i  draJlod  f  aeth  Ffeirie  Drillo  i  lawr. 

Mathew  Owen  a'i  gwnaeth  i'r  Ffair  gyntaf  wrth  rym 
y  Siarter  diwaetha  a  gafodd  Mr.  Morris  Wynn  o  Gro- 
gen. 

Mam  Edward  Davies  oedd  Gwen  verch  Gruffydd  ap 

Lewis  o'r  Golfa  ap  Lewis  ap  Owen  or  Main  ap 

Madoc  ap  leuan  ap  Meredydd  ap  Llew.  ap 

Gruffydd  Lloyd  o'r  Main. 
Mam  Gwen  oedd  Man  verch  Moris  ap  Lewis  Kyffin 

ap  John  ap  William  ap  Moris  ap  leuan  Gethin 

o  Artheryr  ap  Madoc  Kyffin. 
Mam  Dafydd  ap  Edward  oedd  Kattrin  verch  leuan 

ap  lolyn  ap  Llew.  ap  Siankin. 
Mam  Edward  ap  Dafydd  oedd  Sian  verch  Sion  ap 

Moris  Goch. 
Mam  Dafydd   ap  leuan   ap  Dafydd  oedd  Kattrin 

verch  Sion  ap  Einion  ap  Madoc  heddwch.  Cais 

Ach  Pentre  Pant. 
Mam  leuan  ap  Dafydd  ap  leuan  bach  oedd  Myfanwy 

verch  Gruffydd  ap  Madoc  ap  Howe],  Uchelwr 

o'r  Rhiwlas. 


LLYFK  SILIN.  51 

Mam  Dafydd  ap  leuan  bach  ap  Einion  oedd  Gwen- 
hwyfar  verch  leuan  fychan  o  Foelyrch  ap  leuan 
Gethin  ap  Madoc  Kyffin.    Gyda'r  Gwenhwyfar 
hon  y  caed  Esgwennan  issa  yn  Nghynlleth  tan 
dalu  Rent  ucha  i  Foelyrch. 
Plant  Edward  Davies  yw  John  Davies;^  Gwen  Davies 
gwraig  Hugh  Moris  ap  Reinallt  ap  Moris  ap 
Thomas  ap  Reinallt  ap  Moris  ap  GrufFydd  ap 
Dafydd  fychan  ap  Dafydd  ap  Madoc  Kyffin  o 
Artheryr;    Elizabeth*  gwraig  Edward  Owens 
ap  Owen  ap  Edward  ap  Owen  ap  Edward  ap 
Hugh  o  Lyn  Ceiriog;  a  Margred'*  gwraig  Jacob 
Reinallt   o'r  Waen*;    ac  wedi    marw   Edward 
Owens  priododd  Elizabeth  Davies  Thomas  Ed- 
wards^ of  Llangollen  Vechan,  Attorney. 
Evan  bach,  or  leuan  fychan  ap  Einion,  upon  his  own 
proper  charge  began  the  making  of  the  great  window 
in  the  chancel  of  Our  Lady  s  Church  in  Llansilin,  and 
Gwenhwyfar,  his  wife,  finished  the  same,  whose  name 
was  artificially  wrought  in  the  glass,  and  seen  in  the 
memory  of  this  age,  and  until  it  was  ruinated  in  the 
time  of  the  late  unhapy  warre  between  King  Charles 
the  First  and  his  unnatural  subjects.*^ 

WILLIAM   MORRIS,  CEFN  Y  BRAICH. 

William  Moris  ap  Lewis  ap  Moris  ap  Sion  ap  Thomas 
ap  Llew.  o  Foelyrch  ap  leuan  ap  Howel  ap  leuan 
fychan  ap  leuan  Gethin  ap  Madoc  Kyffin  ap  Madoc 
Goch  ap  leva  ap  Cyhelyn  ap  Rhun  ap  Einion  Efell  ap 
Madoc  ap  Meredydd  ap  Bleddyn  ap  Cyntyn  oedd 
Dywysog  Mathrafal  ap  Grwstan  ap  Gwaithfoed  ap 
Gwrydyr  ap  Canadawg  ap  Lies  ap  Llawddeawg  ap 

1  Bom  October  10th,  1652. 

*  Buried  at  Llangollen  on  Wednesday,  May  26th,  1714. 
3  Bnried  on  Monday,  Feb.  13fch,  1698. 

*  Buried  at  Llangollen  on  Tuesda);,  Oct.  7th,  3712. 

^  This  is  a  different  handwriting  from  the  rest  of  the  MS.,  and  is 
probably  the  remark  of  John  Davies,  the  respectable  author  of 
Heraldry  Displayed,  at  the  end  of  his  own  pedigree. — 1.  I. 

4» 


52  LLYFR  SILIN. 

Edn....  ap  Gwynan  ap  Gwynawg  farf  sych  ap  Ceidio 
ap  Corff  ap  Caenawg  mawr  ap  Tegonwy  ap  Teon  ap 
Gwinau  daufreuddwyd  ap  Bywrlew  ap  Bywdeg  ap 
Khun  rhuddbaladr  ap  Llary  ap  Casnar  Wledig  ap  Lludd 
ap  Beli  Mawr  Brenin  Ynys  Prydain. 

Gwraig  gyntaf  William  Moris  oedd  Lettys  verch 
Roger  Kinaston  ap  Humphre  Kinaston  ap 
Roger  Kinaston  o  Fortyn  ap  Humphre  Kinas- 
ton Wyllt  ap  Sir  Roger  Kinaston. 

Mam  Roger  Kinaston  oedd  Sian  verch  Oliver  Lloyd 
o'r  Llai. 

Mam  Sian  oedd  Blanse  verch  Sir  Charles  Herbert  o 
Droiaf  ap  Sir  William  Herbert  fab  larll  Penfro. 

Mam  Humphre  Kinaston  oedd  Gwen  Lloyd  verch 
Rys  ap  Dafydd  Lloyd  o  Gogerddan  ap  Dafydd 
ap  Rhydderch  ap  leuan  Lloyd. 

Mam  Roger  Kinaston  oedd  Elizabeth  verch  Meredydd 
ap  Howel  ap  Moris  ap  leuan  Gethin  ap  Madoc 
Kyffin.         \ 

Mam  Humphre  Kinaston  Wyllt  oedd  Elizabeth  verch 
Harri  Grae  larll  Tancerffild  &c. 

Mam  Elizabeth  oedd  Antigoni  verch  Humphre  Duke 
o  Gloster  brawd  Harri  Ved  Brenin  Lloegr. 

Mam  William  Moris  oedd  Sian  verch  ac  un  o  etif- 
eddesau  Sion  Holand  mab  hynaf  a  gwir  aer 
William  Holand  o'r  Hendrefilwr  yn  Abergele 
ap  Dafydd  Holand  ap  GruflFydd  Holand  ap 
Dafydd  Holand  ap  Holkin  Holand  ap  Robin 
Holand  ap  Thomas  Holand  ap  Sir  Thomas 
Holand  Marchog. 

Mam  Sian  verch  Sion  Holand  oedd  Margred  Lloyd 
verch  William  Lloyd  o  Llansannan  ap  leuan 
Lloyd  ap  Dafydd  ap  Meredydd  o  Hafodunos 
ap  Dafydd  Lloyd  ap  GruflFydd  ap  Cynwrig  ap 
Bleddyn  Lloyd  ap  Bleddyn  fychan  ap  Bleddyn 
ap  Gwion  ap  Kadfach  ap  Asser  ap  Gwrgi  ap 
Hedd  Molwynog  un  o'r  15. 

Mam  Margred  verch  William  Lloyd  oedd  Kattrin 
verch  ac  etifeddes  Dafydd  Lloyd  ap  Moris  o 
Llansannan. 


LLYFR  SILIN.  53 

Mam  William  Lloyd  oedd  Lowri  verch  Howel  ap 

Dafydd  ap  Meiric  o  Nannau. 
Mam  Sion  Holand  oedd  Sian  verch  Meredydd  Lloyd 

ap  Sion  ap  Owen  o'r  Ddiserth  ap  Sion  ap  Eobin. 

Fal  Ach  Bryneuryn. 
Mam  Meredydd  Lloyd  oedd  Lowri  verch  Moris  ap 

Sion  ap  Meredydd  ap  leuan  o  Yfionydd.     Fel 

Ach  Rhiwedog  neu  Klanene. 
Mam  Lowri  oedd  Angharad  verch  Elisse  ap  Gruffydd 

ap  Einion. 
Mam  Sian   verch   Meredydd  Lloyd   oedd   Kattrin 

verch  Hugh  Konwy  o  Fiyneuryn  ap  Reinallt 

Conwy  ap  Hugh  Conwy  hdn   ap  Robyn   ap 

Gruffydd  Goch  o'r  Rhos. 
Mam  William  Holand  oedd  Ales  verch  yr  hen  Sir 

William  Griffith  o'r  Penrhyn.     Ales  oedd  fam 

William  Koetmor. 
Mam  Ales  oedd  Elizabeth  Grae  verch  Robert  Grae 

Constabl  Ruthyn. 
Mam   Dafydd  Holand  ap  Gruffydd  oedd  Gwerfyl 

verch  Howel  ap  Madoc  ap  leuan  ap  Einion  o 

Efionydd  ap  Howel  ap  Meredydd  ap  Einion  ap 

Gwgan  ap  Meredydd  ap  CoUwyn  :  un  o'r  15 

Llwyth. 
Mam  Griffith  ap  Dafydd  Holand  oedd  Dyddgu  verch 

Dafydd  ap  y  Orach  a  elwyd  Dafydd  ap  Mere- 
dydd ap  Gronw  ap  Cynwric  ap  Iddon  ap  Id- 

nerth   ap  Cnethan  ap  laffeth  ap  Carwed  ap 

Marchudd  :  un  o'r  15  Llwyth. 
Mam  Dafydd   Holand  ap  Hoeshin  oedd   Margred 

verch  ac  etifeddes  Dafydd  chwith  ap  Dafydd 

ap  Gruffydd  ap  Cariadog  ap  Thomas  ap  Rodri 

ap  Owen  Gwynedd. 
Mam  Hoeshin  ap  Robin  oedd  Annes  verch  Meredydd 

ap  Rys  ap  Richart  ap  Cadwaladr  ap  Gruffydd 

ap  Cynan. 
2.  Mam  Lewis  Morris  oedd  Kattrin  verch  Lewis  ap 

Moris  ap  Rys  ap  Gutyn  ap  Gruffydd  ap  leuan 

Gethin  ap  Madoc  Kyffin. 


54  LLYFR  SILIN. 

Mam  Kattrin  oedd  Sioned  verch  leuan  fychan  ap 

Llewelyn  ap  Moris  goch. 
Mam  Lewis  ap  Moris  ap  Rys  oedd  Angharad  verch 

leuan  ap  Dafydd  ap  leuan  bach  ap  Einion  ap 

Howel  ap  Cynwric  ap  Llew.  ap  Madoc  o'r  Rhiw- 

las. 

3.  Mam  Moris  ap  Sion  ap  Thomas  oedd  Kattrin  verch 

Lewis  Lloyd  o  Foelfre  ap  Dafydd  Lloyd  ap 
Howel  ap  Moris  ap  leuan  Gethin  ap  Madoc 
Kyffin. 

Mam  Kattrin  verch  Lewis  Lloyd  oedd  Damasin 
Lloyd  verch  leuan  Lloyd  fychan  ap  leuan  Lloyd 
ap  Dafydd  Lloyd  o  Abertanat  ap  Gruffydd  ap 
leuan  fychan  ap  leuan  Gethin  ap  Madoc  Kyffin. 

Mam  Damasin  Lloyd  oedd  Lowri  Grae  verch  John 
Grae  ap  Humphre  Grae  ap  Harri  Grae  larll 
Tangerffild. 

Mam  Lewis  Lloyd  oedd  Marred  verch  leuan  ap 
Howel  ap  lolyn  ap  leuan  Gethin  ap  Madoc 
Kyffin.   Cais  Ach  y  Plas  Ucha  yn  Llangedwyn. 

4.  Mam  Sion  ap  Thomas  ap  Llew.  oedd   Sian  Lloyd 

verch  Gruffydd  Lloyd  ap  Elissau  ap  Gruffydd 
ap  Einion  ap  Gruffydd  ap  Llew.  ap  Cynfrig  ap 
Osber. 

Mam  Sian  Lloyd  oedd  Mary  verch  Dafydd  ap  Meiric 
fychan  aip  Howel  o  Nannau,  ac  i  Fleddyn  ap 
Cynfyn. 

Mam  Gruffydd  Lloyd  ap  Elissau  oedd  Margred  verch 
ac  etifeddes  Siankin  ap  leuan  ap  Llew.  ap 
Gruffydd  Lloyd  ap  Meredydd  ap  Llew.  ap  Ynyr. 
Fal  Ach  Bodidris. 

Mam  Elisse  ap  Gruffydd  ap  Einion  oedd  Lowri  verch 
Tudr  ap  Gi*uffydd  Fychan  or  Rhuddallt  ap 
Madoc  fychan  ap  Gruffydd  Arglwydd  Dinas 
Bran  ap  Madoc  ap  Gruffydd  Maelor  ap  Madoc 
ap  Meredydd  ap  Bleddyn  ap  Cynfyn. 

Dyma'r  Ach  nchod  yn  gywir,  can's  y  Lowri  uchod  oedd 
Verch  Tudr  brawd  Owen  Glyndwr  ap  Gruffydd  fychan. 


LLYPR  SILIN.  55 

Ab  Grnffydd  UafDrndd  7  Hall 
Grjfgorff  gy men  ddigrifgall 
Gorwyr  Madog  lor  Mydeingl 
Fychan  yn  Ymseigian  Seingl 
OoryBgenydd  Ruffydd  rwydd 
Maelawr  gy wir-glawr  Arglwydd. 

Sr.  lolo  Goch  a'r  Achau  Owen  Glyndwr  a'i  cant. 

Felly  nid  oes  yn  Ach  Owen  Glyndwr  un  Madoc 
Crjrpyl  na  Gruffydd  Farwn  gwyn  fal  ac  y  mae  yn  y 
Llyfrau  Cyffredin. 

5.  Mam  Thomas  ap  Llew.  oedd  Ann  verch  Meredydd 

ap  Howel  ap  Moris  ap  leuan  Gethin  ap  Madoc 

Mam  Ann  verch  Meredydd  oedd  Damasin  verch 

Richard  Irland  ap  Roger  ap  Sir  John  Irland 

Arglwydd  Hwrt. 
Mam  Maredydd  ap  Howel  ap  Moris  oedd  Mated 

verch  ac  etifeddes  Howel  ap  leuan  ap  lorwerth 

ap  Einion  Gethin  o  Gynlleth. 

6.  Mam  Llew.  ap  leuan  ap  Howel  oedd  Angharad 

verch  Howel  ap  Madoc  ap  lorwerth  goch  ap 
leuan  Foelfrych  ap  lorwerth  fychan  ap  lor- 
werth ap  Madoc  fychan  ap  Madoc  ap  Urien  o 
Faen  Gwynedd  ap  Eginin  ap  Lies  ap  Idnerth 
benfras  o  Faesbury  ap  Uchdryd  ap  Edwin  un 
or  15  Llwyth.  Efe  a  ddug  Arg.  Croes  Flori 
wedi  engralio  a  phedair  Bran  duon  ar  bob  cor- 
ner a'u  traed  a'u  pigau  yn  gochion. 

7.  Mam  leuan  ap  Howel  oedd  Elen  verch  Dafydd  ap 

leuan  ap  Owen  0  Arwystli ;  a  chwaer  i  Elen 
oedd  Gwenllian  gwraig  Owen  ap  Meredydd  ap 
Dafydd  ap  Gruffydd  fychan  ap  Gruffydd  ap 
Einion  o  Gedewain. 

8.  Mam  Howel  ap  leuan  fychan  oedd  Gwenhwyfar 

verch  leuan  ap  Llew.  ddu  o'r  Deirnion  ap  Gruff- 
ydd ap  lorwerth  foel  ap  lorwerth  fychan  ap 
yr  h6n  lorwerth  ap  Owen  ap  Bleddyn  ap  Tudr 
ap  Rys  Sais. 

9.  Mam  leuan  fychan  ap  leuan  Gethin  oedd  Margred 


56  LLYFR  STLIN. 

verch  Llew.  ap  Rotpert  ap  lorwerth  ap  Ririd 
ap  Madoc  ap  Ednowain  Bendew  :  un  o'r  15. 

10.  Mam  leuan  Getnin  oedd  Tanglwst  verch  ac  etifeddes 

leuan  foel  o  Bencelli :  ac  i  Aleth  Brenin  Dyfed. 

1 1 .  Mam  Madoc  Kyffia  oedd  Lleuku  verch  ac  etifeddes 

Howel  goch  ap  Meredydd  fychan  ap  yr  h6n 
Feredydd  ap  Howel  ap  Meredydd  ap  Bleddyn 
ap  Cynfyn. 

12.  Mam  Madoc  Goch  oedd  Efa  verch  Adda  ap  Awr  ap 

leva  ap  Cyhelyn  ap  Tudr  ap  Rys  Sais. 

13.  Mam  leva  ap  Cyhelyn  ap  Rhun  oedd  Eva  verch  ac 

unig  {sic)  etifeddesau  Gronw  ap  Cadwgan  Seith- 
ydd  Arglwydd  y  Bachau  yn  Mochnant. 

14.  Mam  Cyhelyn  ap  Rhun  oedd  Elizabeth  verch  Sion 

Arglwydd  Straens  oV  Knwkin. 

15.  Mam  Rhun  ap  Einion  Efell  oedd  Arddyn  verch 

Madoc  fychan  ap  Madoc  ap  Einion  ap  Urien  ap 
Eginin  ap  Lies  ap  Id  north  benfras  o  Faesbrwk  ; 
ac  i  Edwin. 

1 6.  Mam  Einion  Efell  oedd verch  Madoc  ap  Einion 

ap  Urien  o  Faengwynedd  fel  o'r  blaen. 

17.  Mam  Madoc  ap  Meredydd   oedd  Hunydd  verch 

Eunydd  Gwerngwy  ap  Marien. 

18.  Mam  Meredydd  ap  Bleddyn  oedd  Haer  verch  Gill- 

ing  ap  Blaidd  Rhudd  o'r  Gest  yn  Efionydd. 

19.  Mam   Bleddyn  ap  Cynfyn  oedd  Angharad  verch 

Meredydd  ap  Owen  ap  Howel  dda  ap  Cadell 
ap  Rodri  Mawr. 

(To  be  continued.) 


57 


HowEL  GwYN,  Esq 

It  is  with  much  regret*  that  we  have  to  record  the  death  of  Howel 
Gwyn,  Esq.,  of  DuSryn,  near  Neath,  which  took  place  at  his  resi- 
dence, on  the  25th  of  Jannary,  in  his  eighty-second  year.  The 
Cambrian  Archesological  Association  has  thus  lost  an  old  member 
and  a  warm  supporter,  and  one  who  took  a  great  interest  in  the 
proceedings  and  welfare  of  the  Association.  Mr.  Owyn  was  a 
thorough  Welshman,  and  it  is  said  could  trace  his  descent  from 
Trahearn  ap  Einon  of  Talgarth,  who  lived  in  the  twelfth  century. 
He  was  much  interested  in  the  history  of  Neath  Abbey ;  and  all 
members  who  attended  the  Swansea  Meeting  will  remember  the 
great  hospitality  shown  them  by  Mr.  Qwyn  on  that  occasion. 


Srcbaeologtcal  iSoteg  anti  ^uertes* 

[It  is  intended,  for  the  future,  to  place  under  the  above  heading  all  matter 
which  has  been  previously  included  in  the  Miscellaneous  Notices,  as 
well  as  correspondence  addressed  to  the  Editors.  It  is  very  much  to  be 
desired  that  this  portion  of  the  Journal  may  again  become,  what  once  it 
was,  a  means  of  communication  between  the  Members  on  subjects  of 
mutual  interest.  The  Local  Secretaries  are  particularly  requested  to 
keep  the  Editors  duly  informed  of  new  discoveries  made  in  each  district ; 
and  the  Members  generally  will  greatly  assist  in  promoting  the  objects 
for  which  the  Cambrian  Archeeological  Association  was  formed,  by  con- 
tributing as  largely  as  possible  to  the  Notes  and  Queries. -The  Editors.] 

Discovery  of  Sepulchral  Remains  on  Tynllwfan  Farm,  near 
Llanfairfechan,  Carnarvonshire. — The  attention  of  the  Editors 
having  been  called  to  the  discovery  of  sepulchral  remains  on 
Tynllwfan  Farm,  near  Llanfairfechan,  by  a  paragraph  on  the 
subject  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  London 
(vol.  xi,  2nd  Series,  p.  429),  one  of  the  Local  Secretaries  for 
Carnarvonshire  was  written  to  about  it,  and  his  reply  is  as  follows : 
"The  grave  was  discovered  about  two  or  three  years  ago  in  a 
tumulus  upon  which  some  trees  grew.  It  stood  near  a  thorn 
hedge  and  a  lane  leading  to  the  mountains.  The  object  in  cutting 
into  it  was  only  to  level  the  ground.  The  grave,  which  was 
composed  of  rough  stones,  with  one  or  more  large  flat  stones  as  a 
cover,  contained  some  broken  fragments  of  urns,  at  least  so  the 
owner  said ;  but  I  have  never  seen  the  pieces.     On  hearing  of  the 


58  ARCH-fflOLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

discovery,  I  at  once  applied  to  the  owner  to  allow  me  to  see  them, 
and  again  several  times  afterwards ;  but  be  always  put  me  off,  and 
at  last  said  they  were  gone  to  London,  and  would  be  back  soon, 
bat  where  they  are  I  have  never  been  able  to  find  out.  I  will 
make  another  application  to  the  proprietor,  and,  if  with  any  good 
result,  will  let  you  know.  "  Biohabd  Luck." 


CoETAN  Arthur  Cromlech,  near  Carnarvon. — Last  summer  I 
came  across  a  native  of  the  neighbourhood  of  Carnarvon,  who  told 
me  of  a  cromlech  which  interested  me.  His  name  is  Mr.  Thomas  M. 
Williams,  7,  Rhiw  Bank  Terrace,  Colwyn  Bay.  I  made  him 
promise  to  put  on  paper  his  account  of  the  cromlech,  and  the 
following  is  the  substance  of  his  letter:  The  cromlech  is  called 
Coetan  Arthur,  that  is  to  say,  Arthur's  Quoit,  and  it  stands  in  the 
parish  of  Llanrug,  on  a  hill- slope  belonging  to  a  farm  called  Y 
Fodlas  (i.e.,  Hafod-las),  and  about  four  miles  from  Carnarvon. 
The  spot  is  commonly  called  Pare  Smith,  but  the  proper  name  of 
the  mountain  is  Y  Cefn  Du.  The  Cefh  Dn  is  exposed,  especially  to 
winds  from  the  north  and  the  east ;  the  prolongation  of  the  Cefn 
Du  separates  the  parishes  of  Llanrug  and  Betws  Garmon  from  one 
another,  and  it  is  on  the  north-eastern  corner  of  it,  on  the  left  of 
Y  Fodlas,  that  the  cromlech  is  to  be  seen.  There  used  to  be  two 
or  three  meini  hirion  near  it,  but  my  informant  does  not  know 
whether  they  are  still  in  situ.  Now,  there  was  a  saying  which  he 
heard  scores  of  times  from  old  people,  that  whoever  slept  under  the 
cromlech  through  the  night  of  St.  John's  Festival  (Nos  dydd  Gwyl 
Ifan)  would  rise  in  the  morning  either  a  giant  in  point  of  strength, 
or  else  as  weak  as  a  dwarf.  Instances  used  to  be  adduced  to  prove 
it,  such  as  old  Ffowe  of  Ty  Dn,  and  Margret  'ch  Ifan  of  Cwmglas, 
who  owed  their  remarkable  strength  to  the  origin  here  indicated. 
Others,  who  were  supposed  to  show  traces  of  the  contrary  effect  of 
the  pemoctation  were  the  Siontwms  of  the  Fuches  Las  and  the 
Deios  of  Cwm  Brwynog.  My  informant  does  not  tell  me  why  the 
cromlech  is  called  Coetan  Arthur,  though  he  intimates  that  there 
was  a  story  current  which  explained  it. 

I  need  hardly  say  that  I  write  this  in  order  to  elicit  answers  to 
the  many  questions  which  this  ancient  monument  suggests ;  or,  in 
short,  any  parallels  which  the  readers  of  the  Journal  may  happen  to 
know  of.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  one  would  be  glad  to  know 
whether  it  has  ever  been  described  in  the  Archceologia  Gamhrensis, 
If  so,  what  is  the  reference  ?  But  if  not,  let  us  hear  from  some 
archfiBologist  what  the  present  state  of  the  cromlech  is,  and  also 
whether  the  Long  Stones  are  still  standing.  John  Bhys. 


Wayside  Cross  near  Jeffreston,  Pembrokeshire. — Can  any  of 
yonr  readers  give  information  abont  a  wayside  cross  near  the 
village  of  Jeffreston,  in  the  hundred  of  Narberth,  in  the  county  of 
Pembroke  ?     The  cross  is  raised  and  carved  on  a  stone  which  is 


ARCH^OLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES.  59 

built  info  the  hedge  on  the  south  side  of  the  road  leading  from  the 
parish  church  to  the  village  of  Cresselly.  It  is  about  eighteen 
inches  in  height,  and  twelve  in  width  across  the  arms.  There  is  a 
tradition  of  a  holy  well  in  the  neighbourhood ;  and  might  not  this 
have  been  the  pilgprims'  road  to  it,  or  to  the  more  important 
Christ's  Well  (now  Greswell)  to  the  south  ?  Emily  Allen. 


Bestobatiok  of  Churchyard  Cross,  St.  Mary  Hill,  Olamoroan. 
— The  parish  of  Si  Mary  Hill,  in  the  hundred  of  Ogmore,  in  the 
county  of  Glamorgan,  lies  about  four  miles  north-west  of  Cow- 
bridge.  The  church,  which  is  dedicated  to  the  Virgin,  takes  the 
latter  part  of  its  name  from  the  high  situation  on  which  it  stands. 
The  parish  is  small,  and  includes  a  portion  of  the  lordship  of 
Ruthin,  which,  in  ancient  times,  constituted  one  of  the  many  petty 
sovereignties  with  which  the  Principality  abounded,  all  exercising 
the  rights  of  the  Crown  until  abolished  in  the  reign  of  Henry  V III. 
On  the  south  side  of  the  churchyard,  early  in  the  present  year 
(1887),  there  existed  the  head  of  a  fine  cross,  placed,  without  any 
shaft,  on  the  top  of  four  courses  of  dilapidated  steps.  The  head  is 
one  of  the  finest  in  Wales,  and  the  tracery  upon  it  is  very  delicate. 
The  subjects  represented  are — ^the  Crucifixion  on  the  front,  the 
Embalming  on  the  back,  and  figures  of  saints  on  the  two  sides, 
all  surmounted  by  finely  carved  canopies. 

From  the  time  of  the  destruction  of  the  cross,  which  probably 
took  place  during  Cromwell's  visit  to  Wales,  nothing  is  known  of 
its  history  until  the  end  of  the  last  century,  when  some  pious 
individual  conceived  the  idea  of  preserving  the  monument;  but, 
not  understanding  the  proper  arrangement  of  the  remains,  the 
head  of  the  cross  was  made  the  base,  and  a  shaft  raised  on  it,  with 
a  plain  block  of  stone  crowning  the  whole.  This  erection,  of  which 
I  fail  to  find  a  sketch,  was  knocked  down  some  thirty  years  ago, 
and  remained  in  this  state  till  the  beginning  of  the  present  year, 
when  the  churchyard  was  accidentally  visited  by  Thomas  Mansel 
Franklen,  Esq.,  of  St.  Hilary,  near  Cowbridge,  who  decided  to  restore 
the  cross  to  its  original  condition.  Many  unforeseen  obstacles  pre- 
sented themselves  when  once  the  work  was  put  in  hand.  A  stone 
for  the  base  was  required  2  ft.  6  in.  by  1  ft.  9  in.,  and  this  had  to 
be  found  on  the.  adjacent  down,  where  the  sandstone  crops  up  in 
irregular  masses;  but  the  difficulty  was  to  find  such  a  block 
without  a  flaw,  and  one  or  two  failures  occurred  before  a  suitable 
piece  was  hewn.  A  stone  for  the  shaft,  1  ft.  square  at  the  base, 
6  ft.  3  in.  in  height,  had  also  to  be  obtained,  together  with  an 
octagonal  block  for  the  cap,  9  inches  in  height,  and  4  ft.  3  in.  in 
circumference,  through  which  a  copper  bolt  had  to  be  inserted,  for 
fixing  the  beautiful  head  which  crowned  the  whole.  The  machinery 
necessary  for  the  re-erection  of  the  cross  was  also  a  matter  of 
difficulty,  as  was  the  scarcity  of  water,  which  had  to  be  hauled  in 
casks   from  the  river  at  Cowbridge,  between  four  and  five  miles 


60  ARCHJCOLOGTCAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

distant,  with  which  to  make  the  mortar  for  resetting  the  flight  of 
steps.  Bat  "  vincit  omnia  labor",  and  now  every  person  interested 
in  the  preservation  of  ancient  monnments  will  appreciate  the  suc- 
cessfal  efibrts  of  the  restorer. 

The  work  has  been  carried  out  by  local  masons  from  a  design 
prepared  by  a  member  of  oar  Association,  after  a  careful  com- 
parison of  the  proportions  of  the  shafts  of  the  crosses  of  a  similar 
type  at  Llangan,  Porthkerry,  and  St.  Donats. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  add  that  the  parishioners  of  St. 
Mary  Hill,  wishing  to  testify  their  appreciation  of  Mr.  Franklen's 
generosity  to  their  parish,  with  which  he  had  no  tie,  presented 
Mrs.  T.  M.  Franklen,  .  through  their  Rector,  the  Rev.  U.  J. 
Humphreys,  with  a  very  handsome  inkstand,  candlesticks,  etc.  As 
the  restored  cross  is  within  five  miles  of  the  town  chosen  for  the 
Annual  Meeting  of  the  Cambrian  Arch»ological  Association  next 
autumn,  it  is  hoped  that  many  members  will  go  and  see  it,  and 
judge  for  themselves  of  the  very  satisfactory  manner  in  which  the 
work  has  been  accomplished.  Emilt  Allen. 


Sepulchbal  Chamber  at  Ttn-t-coed,  near  Capel  Gabmon,  Den- 
bighshire.— The  following  description  of  the  sepulchral  chamber, 
situated  on  high  ground  three-quarters  of  a  mile  south  of  Capel 
Oarmon,  near  Bettws  y  Coed,  is  from  the  pen  of  our  late  lamented 
member  the  Rev.  E.  L.  Barnwell,  and  was  forwarded  to  the 
Editors  by  Mr.  Worthington  Smith,  to  accompany  bis  drawings. 

"This  particular  chamber  differs,  we  believe,  from  all  other  similar 
structures  remaining  in  the  islands,  and  this  difference  consists  in 
the  passage,  or  gallery,  opening  into  the  chamber  being  at  right 
angles  to,  and  not  in  the  same  line  as,  the  chamber.  There  are 
several  of  such  galleries  more  or  less  perfect  still  remaining  in 
Wales.  They  are  found  elsewhere,  as  in  Gloucestershire  and 
Somersetshire,  where  the  most  perfect  examples  still  exist.  Such 
appendages  were  necessary,  as  it  is  certain  that  these  buried  vaults 
were  used  for  successive  interments  for  successive  generations. 
For  this  purpose  one  part  of  the  chamber  must  stand  free,  and 
entirely  independent  of  the  roof,  whether  composed  of  one  or  more 
slabs ;  for,  unless  this  independence  existed,  it  would  be  impossible 
to  remove  it  for  subsequent  interments.  Even  supposing  such 
removal  was  possible,  yet,  in  that  case,  the  safety  of  the  chamber 
would  be  seriously  compromised.  In  fact,  complete  ruin  must 
follow  if  this  support  of  such  a  weight  was  removed.  What  pains 
were  taken  to  secure  the  entrance  may  be  seen  in  the  chamber  in 
the  Uley  mound,  neaj*  Dursley,  in  Gloucestershire.  Here  the 
stone  of  the  entrance  is  an  enormous  block  of  stone,  supported  at 
the  extremities  by  massive  props.  But  a  much  more  striking 
illustration  is  furnished  by  the  enormous  lintel  of  the  great  chamber 
at  Esse,  about  two  miles  from  a  small  town  called  Rotier,  and 
between  which  place  and  Rcnnes  communication  is,  or  was  until 


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ARCH^OLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES.  61 

lately,  kept  np  by  a  daily  diligence.  An  acconnt  of  this  remark- 
able monnment  will  be  found  in  the  Archceohgia  Camhrensis  of 
1874,  pp.  326-7.  There  will  be  fonnd  an  accurate  representation 
of  the  lintel  referred  to,  as  well  as  the  gronnd-plan,  which  shows 
how  the  different  chambers  were  divided  by  cross-stones,  the 
greater  part  of  which  are  in  their  places.  On  reference,  also,  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  stones  marked  2  and  3  are  mnch  more 
massive  than  the  other  supporting  stones,  as  might  have  been 
expected,  from  the  fact  that  the  massive  lintel  rests  upon  them. 
This  end  of  the  chamber,  as  is  usually  the  arrangement,  was  not 
closed  by  any  solid  slab,  but  either  by  diy  rubble  or  thinner  stone, 
not  connected  with,  or  in  any  way  supporting,  the  lintel  given  in 
one  of  the  illustrations.  This  sepulchral  chamber,  as  well  as  the 
great  one  near  Saumnr,  and  much  better  known  than  that  of  Esse, 
are  about  60  feet  long,  the  latter  retaining  traces  of  a  gallery 
leading  to  the  interior,  which  also  is  open  on  the  east  side.  The 
chambers  at  Uley,  in  Gloucestershire,  and  in  Wellow  parish,  near 
Bath,  had  the  same  kind  of  approach,  but  are  divided  by  cross- walls 
into  separate  recesses ;  but  these  structures,  especially  the  one  at 
Wellow,  is  of  much  later  character  than  the  ordinary  type,  whose 
immense  masses  of  stone  are  employed,  as  at  Plas  Newydd,  in 
Anglesey.  In  the  same  county  also  exists  the  most  perfect  gallery, 
opening  into  the  chamber  mentioned  by  Pennant. 

**  The  earliest  notice  of  this  burial-place  is  given  in  the  Arch. 
Camhrensis  of  1856  (p.  91),  accompanied  by  an  accurate  engrav- 
ing by  the  Rev.  J.  Evans,  at  that  time  the  incumbent  of  Pentre 
Yoelas  Chapel.  He  is  now  Archdeacon  of  Merioneth.  It  will 
be  seen  from  this  and  other  illustrations,  that  the  form,  as  previ- 
ously stated,  is  quite  different  from  other  sepulchral  monuments, 
and  very  unlike  the  one  mentioned  by  Mr.  Freeman  as  existing  on 
the  Cotswold  Hills.  During  the  Buthin  Meeting,  in  1854,  Mr.  Free- 
man's statement  is  not  recorded  in  the  Report  of  the  Meetin^f, 
but  we  believe  Mr.  Freeman  alladed  to  the  Uley  mound ;  but  Mr. 
Evans  must  have  misunderstood  that  learned  authority,  for  there  is 
no  striking  resemblance  between  the  two.  There  are,  indeed,  side- 
chambers  on  each  side  of  the  passage,  which  runs  in  the  same 
direction  as  the  chamber,  and  not  at  right  angles — a  very  important 
differenca  In  his  description,  Mr.  Evans  calls  the  capstone  the 
cromlech,  as  if  a  single  flat  stone  could  be  so  called.  By  that 
name  the  chamber  itself  was  formerly  called,  but  of  late  years  even 
that  indefinite  term  has  been  dropped,  and  the  plainer  and  more 
intelligible  word  chamber  used  instead. 

*'  Dates  to  such  remains  as  these  cannot  be  found,  seeing  that  the 
question  who  the  builders  were  has  not  been  answered,  nor  is  likely 
to  be;  but  it  is  very  probable  that  the  Tyn-y-coed  chamber  is  con- 
siderably later  than  our  more  simple  and  more  massively  built 
chambers  of  the  dead.  *'  Edward  LowRr  Barnwell." 


Mr.  Worthinoton  G.  Smith's  Drawings  op  Welsh  Antiquities. 
— The  whole  of  the  drawings  made  by  Mr.  Smith  in  North  and 


62  ARGHJSOLOOIOAL   NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

Sonth  Wales  and  the  Border  Coanties  for  eleyen  years — viz.,  from 
1875  to  1885  inclasive — were  purchased  by  the  late  Mr.  Barnwell. 
He  caused  them  all  to  be  mounted,  and  well  bound  in  seven  large 
volumes ;  and,  very  shortly  before  his  death,  last  autumn,  he  pre* 
sented  them  thus  bound  to  the  Library  of  the  Shropshire  Archsdo- 
logical  and  Natural  History  Society  at  Shrewsbury.  The  draw- 
ings are  mounted  on  240  mounts,  but  the  actual  sketches  amount 
to  nearly  double  this  number.  It  is  satisfactory  to  know  that 
these  drawings  are  placed  so  conveniently  to  the  Principality. 

WORTHINGTON  G.  SmiTH. 

Weeping  Crosses. — In  Eimmer's  Ancient  Stone  Crosses,  p.  14, 1 
find  this  statement: — 

*'  Weeping  crosses  were  erected  for  the  use  of  those  who  were 
compelled  to  do  penance  by  the  parish  clergyman.  Thera  is  an 
example  of  one  of  these  in  Flintshire,  not  far  from  Holywell.  It  is 
known  by  a  Welsh  name,  which  signifies  the  cross  of  mourning, 
and  was  formerly  supposed  to  mark  the  site  of  some  lost  battle  or 
other  event." 

Demurring  altogether  to  the  first  paragraph,  I  ask,  with  respect 
to  the  second  and  third,  What  is  the  Welsh  name?  If  Croes 
Wylan^  what  other  crosses,  similarly  designated,  besides  this  one 
and  the  one  at  Oswestry,  are  known  to  have  existed  ?  The  site  of 
the  Shrewsbury  "weeping  cross"  is  also  well  known;  but  that 
was  never  described,  I  believe,  as  a  Croes  Wylan, 

Henbt  T.  Clerk  Shrawabdine. 


Abchjeologigal  Appointments. — The  Council  of  the  Socieiy  of 
Antiquaries  of  Scotland  have  this  year  selected  Dr.  Robert  Monro, 
F.S.A.(Scot.),  to  fill  the  post  of  Rhind  Lecturer,  the  subject  to  be 
dealt  with  being  the  Lake  Dwellings  of  Europe.  Dr.  Monro's 
work  on  the  Scotch  Lake  Dwellings  is  well  known  to  archsBo- 
logists,  and  the  forthcoming  lectures,  which  will  be  delivered  in 
October  next,  at  Edinburgh,  promise  to  be  of  exceptional  interest. 
The  last  two  years  have  been  spent  by  Dr.  Monro  in  visiting  the 
principal  sites  of  the  lake  dwellings  on  the  Continent,  and  studying 
the  collections  in  the  Swiss  and  Italian  museums.  It  is  impossible 
to  understand  the  antiquities  of  this  country,  except  after  com- 
paring them  with  the  remains  existing  in  other  parts  of  Europe. 
The  questions  of  the  possible  existence  of  a  copper  age,  as  well  as 
one  of  stone  and  bronze,  and  whether  bronze  was  introduced  by  a 
conquering  race,  still  remain  undecided.  Dr.  Monro's  lectures 
will  be  the  means,  if  not  of  solving  these  problems  finally,  at  all 
events  of  throwing  a  flood  of  new  light  on  the  subject. 

The  Rev.  G.  F.  Browne,  B.D.,  has  been  appointed  Disney 
Professor  of  Archaeology  at  Cambridge.  He  will  deliver  six 
lectures  during  the  Lent  Term,  on  the  "  Sculptured  Stones  of  pre- 
Norman  Type  in  the  British  Islands."     This  is  the  first  attempt 


ARCHiEOLOOICAL  NOTKS  AND  QUERIES.  63 

that  has  been  made  by  any  of  our  nniversitieB  to  encourage  the 
stndy  of  the  national  Christian  monnments  of  Great  Britain.  The 
result  cannot  fail  to  be  of  the  highest  importance  to  archaBology ; 
for  once  the  public  begins  to  understand  the  valne  of  the  splendid 
series  of  early  crosses  to  be  found  in  Wales,  Ireland,  Scotland,  and 
England,  as  illustrating  Christian  art  in  its  most  interesting  stage, 
it  will  insist  that  the  authorities  who  direct  our  museums  shall 
devote  at  least  as  much  space  to  exhibiting  casts  of  these  monu- 
ments as  is  given  at  present  to  Louis  XIV  furniture  or  Japanese 
flower-pots.  J.  Romillt  Allen. 

Discovert  op  Human  Remains  at  Babrt. — On  Monday,  seven 
skeletons  of  human  beings  were  found  by  the  workmen  employed 
on  the  Barry  Dock  works,  in  a  field  near  Helton  House;  they 
were  about  eighteen  inches  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and 
on  the  top  of  the  lias  rock.  Two  of  the  skeletons  were  side  by 
side,  and  the  rest  a  littl^  distance  away.  On  Saturday  three 
skeletons  were  found  near  the  same  place,  and  a  short  time  ago 
five  skeletons,  twenty  or  thirty  yards  away  from  those  found  on 
Monday.  A  few  pieces  of  pottery,  some  of  it  glazed,  were  picked 
up  with  the  bones,  and  are  in  the  possession  of  the  resident 
engineer,  Mr.  John  Robinson. — South  Wales  Daily  News,  Oct.  25, 
1887. 

The  navvies  employed  upon  the  Barry  Dock  works,  near  Cardiff, 
have  brought  to  light  quite  a  graveyard  full  of  skeletons,  though, 
so  far  as  is  known,  there  never  was  a  consecrated  burial-ground 
upon  or  near  the  site  of  the  present  discovery.  Some  brief 
particulars  of  the  unearthing  of  human  remains  at  the  great  dock 
works  appeared  in  our  issue  of  yesterday,  but  up  to  the  present  the 
full  number  of  the  skeletons  discovered  has  not  been  made  known. 
Only  yesterday  afternoon,  the  pick  and  shovel  of  the  navvies 
brought  to  light  three  more  human  frames,  as  well  as  the  skeleton 
of  a  horse.  The  number  of  human  skeletons  unearthed  so  far  has 
been  as  many  as  eighteen.  The  skeletons  have  all  been  dug  up  in 
a  field  at  Holton-fawr.  It  appears  that  the  presence  of  human 
remains  was  first  noticed  more  than  a  week  ago  by  some  labourers 
who  were  engaged  in  making  a  tip  siding  at  Holton-fawr,  but  as 
the  bones,  yielding  to  the  pickaxe  and  shovel,  came  up  in  broken 
fragments,  very  little  heed  was  paid  to  them,  though  they  formed 
the  component  parts  of  no  fewer  than  five  skeletons.  On  Satur- 
day, however,  three  more  skeletons  were  found ;  and  on  Monday 
as  many  as  seven  were  brought  to  the  surface,  as  the  result  of 
which  some  of  the  men  employed  upon  the  works  at  this  spot 
appear  to  have  become  a  little  alarmed,  though  apparently  they 
were  not  all  affected  with  the  same  fear,  as  many  of  them  bore  off, 
as  grim  mementoes  of  their  gruesome  *' find",  some  human  teeth, 
which  they  had  no  difficulty  in  extracting  from  the  jaws  of  the 
disentombed  skulls.  Thus  the  discovery  became  noised  abroad, 
and  on  Monday  reached  the  ears  of  Mr.  Robinson,  the  able  and 


64  ARCB^OLOGIOAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

energetic  engineer  of  the  Barry  Dock,  who  at  once  repaired  to 
Holton-fawr,  for  the  purpose  of  making  an  inTestigAtion.  He 
foDnd  that  the  reroaine  had  been  etrack  at  a  depth  of  two  feet  from 
the  Burface,  and  it  further  seemed  that  the  earth  could  never  have 
been  of  greater  thickness  at  this  spot,  as  a,  huge  rock  intervened. 
In  fact,  the  skeletons  were  found  upon  this  rock,  at  a  distance  of 
tweuty-fonr  inches  from  what  waa  for  years  a  greensward  flat, 
over  which  the  cattle  strayed  and  browsed.  With  the  remains 
were  found  some  broken  pieces  of  antique  pottery,  of  the  rnde  and 
primitive  design  which  belonged  to  a  oouple  of  centuries  ago. 
Upon  the  bones  being  collected  on  Monday,  the  explorers  were 
able  to  count  fifteen  nearly  complete  skeletons,  all  of  them  of  full- 
grown  persons,  though  the  sex  could  not  be  determined.  The 
more  complete  of  the  remains  were  removed,  and  on  Monday  could 
be  seen  at  the  offices,  amongst  them  being  a  skull  which  was 
completely  filled  with  clay.  A  medical  man  attached  to  the  Barry 
Dock  works,  who  examined  the  bones,  entertained  a  belief  that 
they  mast  have  been  under  the  gronnd  for  nearly  two  hundred 
yenrs.  The  discoveries,  however,  did  not  close  with  the  unearthing 
of  the  fifteen  skeletons  already  alluded  to.  While  our  corr^Bpandeut 
was  at  the  inquirer's  office  on  Monday,  a  messenger  broaglit  intelli- 
gence to  the  effect  that  the  remains  of  three  more  persons  had 
been  dag  up.  Mr.  Charles  Walker,  nephew  of  the  contractor, 
gave  orders  that  the  skeletons  were  not  to  be  touched,  after  which 
an  engiue  was  summoned,  and  a  small  party  proceeded  to  Holton- 
fawr,  the  Bceue  of  the  mysterious  recent  discovery.  One  of  the 
three  skeletons,  which  had  been  very  little  interfered  with  by  the 
picks  of  the  navvies,  was  fonrid  to  be  in  a  remarkable  state  of 
preservation.  The  frame  reclined  at  full  length,  and  slightly  upon 
one  side,  the  skull,  ribs,  and  leg-bones  all  being  intact,  and  in  a 
natural  position.  The  teeth,  some  of  which  our  correspondent 
brought  away  with  him,  were  wonderfully  well  preserved,  being 
sound  in  sobstance,  white  in  colonr,  and  showing  not  the  slightest 
signs  of  decay.  On  the  supposition  that  the  eighteen  skeletons 
might  be  the  remains  of  some  ancient  warriors  slain  in  battle,  a 
diligent  search  has  been  made  for  arms,  bat  not  the  slightest  trace 
of  any  implements  of  warfare  can  be  foand,  whilst  the  entire 
absence  of  buttons,  and  snch  like  things  attached  to  clothing, 
seems  to  suggest  that  the  bodies  were  buried  in  a  state  of  nudity. 
The  possibility  of  their  having  been  washed  ao  bv  the  sea  has  been 
speonlated  upon,  bnt  this  theory  see 
that  the  remains  were  less  than  two  I 
mentioned,  no  bnrial-place  is  locally 
spot;  and  up  to  the  present  no  sa 
given  of  the  why  and  wherefore 
conditions  described.  It  appears  f 
similar  discoveries  to  the  foregoing 
Island  in  years  gone  by.  In  1817, 
were  fonnd  near  a  chapel,  which  has  s 


ARCHiEOLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES.  65 

in  1886,  the  vicinity  of  the  Marine  Hotel  was  the  scene  of  the  tm- 
eartbing  of  skeletons. — South  Wales  Daily  New$y  Oct.  26, 1887. 


Thk  Aurtpbrous  Wealth  or  Wales. — "  The  occnrrence  of  gold 
in  North  Wales  formed  the  subject  of  a  very  interesting  paper  by 
Mr.  T.  A.  Readwin,  F.O.S.,  read  before  the  Geologists'  Association, 
at  University  College,  London.  The  occnrrence  of  gold  has,  said 
the  author,  been  known  as  a  fact  to  geologists  for  nearly  half  a  cen- 
tury. And  it  is  quite  certain  that  the  well-to-do  of  the  ancient 
Britons  indulged  rather  extravagantly  in  gold  ornaments.  They 
wore  torques  made  of  thick  gold  wire  curiously  twisted;  also 
wreaths,  armlets,  leglets,  and  signet^rings  of  gold.  They  also  used 
golden  corslets,  shields,  weapons,  and  spurs;  luxuriated  in  the  pos- 
session of  *  gulden  harps  with  golden  wires';  and  pledged  one  another 
in  bull-horn  drinking-cups  tipped  with  solid  gold. 

"  A  celebrated  Triad  makes  three  Welsh  chieftains  the  enviable 
possessors  of  golden  cars ;  and  Meyrick,  the  historian,  not  un- 
reasonably infers  from  this  that  gold  mines  were  wrought  somehow 
by  the  Welsh  nt  a  very  early  period.  It  must  be  said  that  the 
style  of  the  golden  weapons,  torques,  etc ,  that  have  been  found 
at  various  times,  is  very  simple,  and  quite  unlike  the  style  of 
ornamentation  of  the  early  Christian  period,  and  it  is  therefore 
probable  that  they  belong  to  a  time  long  anterior  to  that.  That 
the  ornaments  mentioned  were  made  of  Welsh  gold  goes  almost 
without  saying.  I  may  be  allowed  to  refer  here  to  one  of  them, 
whirh  seems  to  have  received  but  scanty  attention.  1  mean  a  gold 
corselet  (or  breast-plate)  to  be  seen  amongst  the  antiquities  of  the 
British  Museum,  which  was  found  in  Flintshire  in  1830,  and 
described  and  illustrated  in  Archasologia  in  1835. 

'^  It  is  thought  by  some  that  Julius  Caasar  invaded  these  islands 
more  for  the  acquisition  of  supposed  riches  than  the  conquest  of  a 
barbarous  people.  This  thought  may  have  originated  in  an  ex- 
pression put  into  the  mouth  of  Galgacus,  whilst  attacking  the 
Caledonians, — namely,  'Britain  produces  gold,  silver,  and  other 
metals  the  booty  of  victory.'  It  is  more  than  probable  that  the 
Uomans  actually  discovered  gold  in  Wales  on  their  own  account, 
and  wrought  it,  too;  for,  independently  of  the  statement  of  Tacitus, 
just  quoted,  there  are  evidences  of  plenty  of  Roman  mine- works, 
where  gold  must  have  been  the  principal,  if  not  the  sole,  object  of 
their  search. 

"One  of  the  most  remarkable  is  Gogofau,  near  Pumpsant,  in 
Carmarthenshire.  This  gold  mine  is  situate  on  the  banks  of  the 
Cothy.  Here  a  quartz  lode  has  been  worked,  'opened  to  the 
day',  and  a  level  driven  nearly  200  feet  through  slate  rook.  The 
officers  of  the  Geological  Survey  discovered  gold  here,  and  also 
what  may  fairly  be  called  a  metallurgical  workshop ;  amongst  the 
things. found  at  the  time  was  a  beautiful  gold  necklace.  But,  to 
come  nearer  our  own  time,  it  may  be  well  to  notice  that,  between 
5tu  ser.,  vol.  v.  5 


66  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

tbe  yenrs  1631  nnd  1645,  Thomas  BuRbell  rented  royal  mines  of 
Kin(y  Charles  I,  both  in  Merionethshire  and  Cardiganshire;  those 
in  Merioneth  being  described  as  *  situate  near  Barmonth\  which 
is  a  fact  of  some  significance  in  the  Welsh  gold  inqnirj,  and  I  may 
be  excused  for  saying  a  word  or  two  more  about  it  on  this  occasion. 
The  nn fortunate  Charles  appesrs  to  have  been  nearly  always 
afflicted  by  chronic  impecnniosity,  a  disorder  attended  by  many 
and  varied  inconveniences,  particularly  to  a  rather  quarrelsome 
and  very  unpopular  king. 

*'  At  one  time,  it  is  said,  Charles's  exigencies  were  so  extreme 
that  his  queen  had  to  dispose  of  her  silver  toilet-service  in  order  to 
supply  immediate  food  for  the  royal  household.  In  1636,  Bushell 
was  allowed  by  the  King  to  erect  a  mint  at  the  Castle  of  Aber- 
ystwith,  ostensibly  for  the  purpose  of  coining  his  Cardiganshire 
silver  for  the  convenience  of  paying  miners  and  other  workpeople 
of  his  own.  He  struck  coin  of  the  value  of  halfpenny,  penny, 
two,  three,  four,  six,  and  twelve  pence,  and  a  half-crown.  It  is 
a  fact  unquestioned  thst  Bushell  gave  and  lent  his  royal  master 
altogether  treasui'e  equivalent  to  quite  two  millions  of  oar  money. 
It  is  also  a  fact  that  the  King  could  not  have  stood  the  racket  of 
the  Oreat  Rebellion  without  the  pecuniary  aid  aflTorded  by  Thomas 
Bushell.  It  is  also  a  fnct  that  Cromwell  had  closed  the  Mint  at 
the  Tower  against  the  King,  and  rendered  it  impossible  for  him 
to  get  monetary  supplies  from  that  quarter.  It  is  also  certain 
that  Bushell  could  not  have  imported  gold  into  Wales,  where  he 
resided  mostly,  for  he  was  hemmed  in  by  the  Parliamentary  forces, 
and  royal  escorts  were  continually  robbed  by  them. 

"My  firm  impression  is,  that  this  very  astute  gentleman,  Bushell, 
paid  more  attention  to  gold  coinage  than  to  the  coinage  of  silver, 
of  which  he  only  accounts  for  about  £13,000  worth  !  In  any  case 
(according  to  Ruding),  Bushell  was  considered  the  '  chief  dealer' 
in  the  precious  metals  in  Wales  during  the  rebellion ;  and  the  fact 
of  his  coining  at  extemporised  mints  and  '  transported  dies'  must 
be  allowed  to  count  for  much  as  regards  the  supposition  that 
Bushell  was  master  of  the  situation  in  Wales  as  to  the  matter 
of  the  coinage,  whether  'exurgst  money*,  'blacksmith's  money*, 
*  siege-pieces*,  or  otherwise.  As  Mrs.  Glass  would  have  put  it, 
Bushell  must  have  caught  his  gold  before  he  struck  the  three- 
pound  and  other  gold  pieces ;  and  it  is  equally  certain  that  he  did 
not  dig  his  gold  in  Cardiganshire,  for  that  county  was  celebrated 
for  its  lead  and  silver  only. 

"The  charming  Dolgelly  district  of  Merionethshire,  owing  to 
comparatively  recent  gold  discoveries,  holds  up  its  hand  for  the 
honour  of  having  furnished  the  gold  in  loyal  support  of,  perhaps, 
the  most  unfortunate  monarch  of  these  realms. 

"  Contrary  proof  wanting,  I  maintain  the  theory  that  this  must 
have  been  the  case,  for  I  have  found  nearly  a  hundred  silver  and 
gold  coins  bearing  the  plume  of  feathers  as  mint- mark  on  the 
obverse,  and  frequently  the  plume  in  triplicate  oti  the  reverse,  of 


ARCfl^OLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES.  67 

the  ooins.  This  mint-mark  was  agreed  on  previously,  in  order  to 
indicate  the  Welsh  origin  of  the  metals  ;  and  it  is  ittther  a  carious 
fact  that  this  plnme  has  been  frequently  mistaken  for  the  fleur-de- 
lis.  That  Bnshell  got  the  whole  of  his  gold  from  the  beautiful 
valley  of  the  Mawddach  and  its  adjacent  mountains,  I  have  not  the 
slightest  doubt.  I  am  the  fortunate  possessor  of  one  of  Bushell's 
three-pound  pieces  of  the  'ezurgat  money',  bearing  date  1644; 
and  also  casts  of  others,  dated  respectively  1642  and  1643.  That 
history  is  comparatively  silent  on  this  subject  may  be  accounted  for 
in  this  way.  Bushell  paid  his  royal  master  one-tenth  royalty  on  his 
gold,  and  lent  him  the  remaining  nine-tenths.  The  King  got  all 
he  could  get,  and  it  was  not  at  all  to  the  interest  of  either  to  say 
anything  about  it.  There  were  no  accounts  to  keep.  But  these 
coins  that  remain  fill  the  historical  gap. 

"  The  1644  piece  is  alleged  to  have  been  struck  at  Oxford;  but 
this  could  hardly  have  been  the  case,  for  at  Oxford  the  King  had 
chopped  into  bits  of  all  sizes  and  values  nearly  all  the  silver  plate 
belonging  to  the  colleges,  promising  to  repay  its  value  at  five 
shillings  per  ounce,  *  whenever  God  should  please',  with  eight  per 
cent,  interest  thereon.  The  colleges  certainly  had  no  gold  plate  or 
bullion,  and  very  little  silver.  There  was  no  gold  in  the  mint  at 
Oxford,  and  Bushell  was  not  there  at  the  time.  The  three-pound 
pieces,  therefore,  I  think,  must  have  been  all  struck  in  Wales 
without  interference,  and  the  gold  got  out  of  Merionethshire.  I 
may  mention  here  that  Lord  Bacon's  new  plan  of  mining  was  by 
driving  deep  levels  for  drainage.  Bushell  was  his  devoted  pupil, 
and,  as  I  re«ul  it,  the  first  man  who  ever  attempted  to  carry  out  the 
Baconian  grand  and  novel  design.  This  makes  me  think  that 
some  of  the  Welsh  excavations  attributed  to  the  Romans  (those 
having  levels)  in  all  probability  were  the  work  of  Thomas  Bushell 
and  his  friends  at  the  time  when  everybody  was  allowed  by  law  to 
dig  for  gold  and  silver  wherever  they  thought  to  find  it." — IndtMtrial 
Review,  Jan.  7, 1888. 


68 


Eebte\D2i  anti  Botim  of  £oob£(. 

A  BooKE  OF  Glamokoikshire  Antiquities.  Bj  Rice  Merrick, 
Esq.  1578.  Edited  by  James  Andrew  Gorbett.  London: 
J.  Davy  and  Sons.     1887.     Small  4to.,  159  pages. 

That  Glamorganshire,  one  of  the  largest  and  most  important 
districts  in  Wales,  shonld  be  without  a  county  history  is  certainly 
not  from  lack  of  material  from  which  to  deduce  a  consistent 
account  of  the  progress  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  part  of  the 
country  from  the  barbarism  of  the  stone  age  to  the  high  civilisa- 
tion of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  less  cultivated  districts  on 
the  mountains  are  rich  in  prehistoric  remains  *,  the  early  Christian 
inscribed  monuments  bear  witness  to  the  existence  of  a  British 
church  whilst  Saxon  England  was  still  pagan  ;  and  the  medieval 
castles  tell  the  story  of  the  conquest  of  Wales  by  the  Normans. 
As  no  single  individual  capable  of  welding  the  vast  amount  of  facts 
bearing  on  the  subject  into  a  logical  whole  has  yet  been  found, 
the  task  of  the  future  county  historian  might  be  greatly  simplified 
by  the  formation  of  an  Archeeological  and  Historical  Society  for 
Glamorganshire,  by  which  means  all  the  structures,  monuments,  and 
objects  discovered  in  association  with  them  might  be  systematically 
described  and  classified,  and  all  documents  existing  in  the  public 
archives  might  be  collected  and  published.  Mr.  James  A.  Corbett 
has  forestalled  the  work  of  such  a  society  by  reprinting  Rice 
Merrick's  Morganim  Arcliaiographia,  with  notes,  under  the  title  of 
A  Books  of  Glamorgaiishire  Antiquities.  The  only  previous  edition 
was  privately  printed  by  Sir  Thomas  Phillipps  at  Middle  Hill  in 
1825,  and  copies  are  now  very  difficult  to  obtain.  Rice  Merrick 
was  said  to  have  lived  at  Cottrell,  and  was  Clerk  of  the  Peace  for 
the  county.  He  wrote  his  book  in  1578,  but  the  only  MS.  now  in 
existence  is  a  copy  written  1660  to  1680,  in  the  possession  of 
Queen's  College,  Oxford.  Mr.  Corbett' s  edition  is  a  reprint  from 
Sir  Thomas  Phillipps*  book,  which  was  taken  from  a  copy  of  the 
Qaeen's  College  MS.  made  by  the  late  Rev.  J.  M.  Traheme.  Jn 
order,  therefore,  to  correct  any  mistakes  which  may  have  crept  in, 
the  present  edition  has  been  carefully  collated  with  the  Queen's 
College  MS. 

The  first  120  pages  of  Mr.  Corbett's  volume  are  devoted  to  Rice 
Merrick's  Morganiat  Archfiogrophidy  and  the  remaining  59  pages 
contain  the  portion  of  Lelnnd's  Itinerary  relating  to  Glamorgan- 
shire; extracts  from  the  AnnaUs  Camhri<v  fix^d  the  Brut  y  Tyvrysogion; 
notes  by  the  author  on  the  text;  and  last,  but  not  least,  a  copious 
index.     Great  care  has  evidently  been  bestowed  by  both  Editor 


REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OF  BOOKS.  69 

and  publisher  on  the  preparation  of  the  book,  in  order  to  ensure 
good  binding,  good  paper,  and  good  printing.  In  these  days  of 
competition  and  cheap  bad  work,  it  is  an  unalloyed  pleasure  to 
turn  over  the  pages  of  a  volume  such  as  is  now  before  us,  rejoicing 
in  broad  margins  and  bright  clear  type  standing  out  crisply  against 
a  background  of  delicately  toned  paper.  It  recalls  to  one*s  memory 
the  amiable  enthusiast  described  in  Hill  Burton's  Book-Hunter^  who 
nsed  to  be  so  well  satisfied  with  the  exteriors  of  his  literary 
treasures  that  he  would  have  considered  it  the  worst  possible 
taste  to  examine  their  contents.  However,  not  having  reached 
this  extreme  stage  of  bibliomania,  we  may  be  permitted  to  read 
Rice  Merrick  before  placing  him  on  our  shelves,  even  at  the  risk  of 
shocking  the  collector  pure  and  simple.  Not  the  least  interesting 
feature  in  the  Booke  of  Qlamorgmishire  Antiq\iitio8  is  the  reproduc- 
tion of  the  quaint  phraseology,  spelling,  and  it  may  be  added  bad 
grammar  of  the  original,  as,  for  instance,  the  following  sentence, 
which  catches  the  eye  on  the  first  page:  "And  as  the  memory  of 
things  done  in  former  Ages  by  our  Predecessors  are  {sic)  partly 
buryed  in  oblivion,"  etc.  Rice  Merrick  begins  by  explaining  tiie 
necessity  for  the  existence  of  historians  by  observing  that  if  our 
ancestors  bad  committed  to  writing  the  things  which  came  under 
their  personal  observation,  many  things  worthy  of  remembrance 
would  not  have  been  forgotten.  He  goes  on  to  give  reasons  why 
history  should  be  read.  "  For  like  as  a  man,  by  a  certaine  instinct 
of  nature,  is  desirous  of  Novelties,  soe  is  hee  of  the  knowledge  of 
things  past;  whereby  not  only  necessary  and  pleasant  remembrance 
is  attayned,  but  alsoe  good  example  to  the  Amendment  of  life." 

Morganice  Archaiographia  is  made  up  partly  of  the  history  of 
Glamorganshire  from  the  earliest  times,  and  partly  of  descriptions 
of  the  state  of  the  county  at  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The 
historical  portion  appears  to  have  been  derived  chiefly  from  a 
Welsh  MS.  called  Cwtta  Cyfarwydd,  a  short,  stumpy  volume  written 
about  1446,  and  now  preserved  iu  the  Peniarth  Library.  He  also 
consulted  certain  "old  Bookes  and  pamphletts  in  the  Brittaine 
tongue",  and  the  Register  of  Neath  Abbey,  now  no  longer  in  ex- 
istence. Mr.  Corbett  thinks  that  not  much  weight  can  be  attached 
to  Rice  Merrick's  history,  and  points  out  that  the  personal  details  as 
to  Jestyn  and  Rhys  ap  Tudor  are  undoubtedly  fabulous. 

On  page  5  will  be  found  a  most  amusing  illustration  of  the  way 
in  which  an  inscription  may  be  misread  wlien  a  false  assumption 
has  once  been  made  as  to  its  language  and  true  character.  Merrick 
here  tells  us  that  *'  Morgan,  Duke  of  Albania  (now  named  Scot- 
land), was  slain  by  Cunedagius,  his  cousen  German,  in  a  battel  1 
between  them,  fought  neere  to  a  place  called  Eglwys  uvunyd,  and 
there  baryed,  with  a  square  rough  hard  stone  layd  over  him 
(which  I  have  viewed  and  seene)«  with  this  superscription  in  the 
brytane  Language  engraved  therein :  Pymp  lys  vy  kar  ym  tokkwys; 
as  much  to  say  in  English  *  my  Cousen*s  five  fingers  overtopped 
me',  which   place,  in  this  Remembrance   of  his   death,  is  called 


70  REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 

Morgan  nniill  this  day,  by  com'on  use  Mar^m,  according  to  the 
manner  yet  used  in  Scotland  and  the  North  of  England,  pronouncing 
▲  oftentimes  for  o."  The  stone  here  referred  to  is  of  coarse  the 
well-known  Pampeins  Garantorins  monument  near  Margam;*  bnt, 
in  making  merry  over  the  blunders  of  the  antiquary  of  three 
hundred  years  ago,  we  must  not  forget  that  it  is  not  long  since 
Professor  George  Stephens  read  an  inscription  in  Greek  hexameters, 
found  at  Brough,  in  Westmoreland,  as  an  epitaph  in  the  ancient 
dialect  of  Northnmbria  written  in  Runes.  It  is  also  a  point 
worthy  of  note  that  the  Pumpeius  Carantorius  stone  should  have 
been  described  at  so  early  a  petiod,  although  Merrick  does  not 
seem  to  have  noticed  the  Oghams  on  the  edge  of  the  pillar. 

The  description  given  of  the  physical  peculiarities  of  the  country, 
on  p.  9,  is  not  without  interest.  **  Bro",  or  the  Country  in  the 
Vale,  Merrick  tells  us,  was  **a  champyon  and  open  country, 
without  great  store  of  in  closures;  for,  in  my  time,  old  men  reported 
that  they  remembered  in  their  youth  that  Cattell  in  some  time  for 
want  of  shade,  from  the  port  way  runne  to  Barry,  which  is  4  miles 
distant,  whose  forefathers  told  them  that  great  part  of  th'inclosures 
was  made  in  their  days."  ''Blayne",  on  the  other  hand,  "which  in 
English  wee  call  Montaines'*,  was  of  greater  area  than  the  low 
country  of  the  vale;  and  "  in  this  part  was  always  great  breeding 
of  Cattell,  Horses,  and  Sheepe;  but  in  the  Elder  time  therein 
grew  but  snlall  store  of  Corne;  for  in  most  places  there  the 
ground  was  not  thereunto  apt,  unlesse  it  were  mended  with  Soyle 
or  dung ;  but  now  of  late  yeares,  since  the  knowledge  or  use  of 
lymingre  was  found,  there  groweth  more  plenty  of  grayne,  as  in 
place  thei*eto  more  aptly  serving  shall  be  declared.*' 

Merrick  concludes  the  historical  portion  of  his  work  by  pointing 
out  the  great  advantages  accruing  to  the  Principality  by  being 
united  with  England,  and  the  following  sentence  will  not  be  very 
pleasant  reading  for  Welsh  Home-Rulers :  "  The  Discord  betweene 
England  and  Wales,  then,  procured  Slaughters,  Invasions,  Enmityes, 
burnings,  Poverty,  and  such  like  fruites  of  Warr.  This  Vnity 
engendered  ffreiudshipp.  Amity,  Love,  Alliance,  assistance,  wealth, 
and  quietnes ;  God  preserve  and  encrease  it." 

The  remaining  part  of  the  Morganias  Archaiographiaj  although 
short,  is  really  the  most  valuable,  as  it  contains  accounts  of  the 
state  of  Cardiff,  Llandaff,  Caerphilly,  Merthyr,  etc.,  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  founded  on  personal  knowledge.  The  commercial  import- 
ance attained  by  Cardiff  as  a  port  within  the  last  few  years  was 
then  undreamt  of,  but  its  germ  existed  in  "  a  faire  key,  to  the 
which  both  Ships  and  Botes  reset t."  The  "high  crosse''  and  the 
"  foure  faire  Gates*'  in  the  town  walls  have  disappeared,  but  the 
steeple  of  St.  John's  Church*  "  beautified  with  Piimacles",  still  "  of 
all  skillfull  behoulders  is  very  well  liked  of*.  The  description  of 
Cardii!  Castle  is  very  full,  and  should  be  compared  with  that  given  by 

^  West  wood's  Lapidarium  Wallia^  pi.  xiii,  fig.  1. 


REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OF  BOOKS.  71 

Mr.  G.  T.  Clark  in  his  Medimval  Militarjf  Architecture,  Merrick's 
speculations  as  to  the  derivation  of  the  name  Caerphilly  are  amusing. 
"  Some  conjecture  it  to  proceede  of  one  Fily,  fehe  sonne  of  a  Gyant. 
Others  think  it  to  spring  of  the  Romanes,  and  that  a  Roman  Gover- 
nonr  builded  it,  and  left  his  daughter  there  to  dwell,  and  soe  called  it 
Cara  Filirt,  and  corruptly  Caer  Filly."  A  curious  relic  of  superstition 
is  preserved  on  p.  107  in  connection  with  Eglwys  Ylan,  which  church 
was  visited  every  May  eve  by  people  to  make  an  offering  to  the 
priest,  "  believing  thereby  to  ridd  their  Cattell  out  of  danger  of  any 
pestilent  or  sodaiue  death." 

Mr.  Corbett's  notes  in  the  Appendix  are  admirable  as  far  as  they 
go;  and  their  quality  being  so  good,  we  can  only  regret  that  the 
quantity  is  not  greater.  The  question  of  illustrations  generally 
affects  the  price  at  which  it  is  possible  to  publish  a  book;  but  we 
cannot  help  thinking  that  it  would  bo  a  decided  improvement  if  a  map 
of  the  county,  a  plan  of  Cardiff  Castle,  and  a  few  woodcuts  of  the 
Pumpeius  Carantorius  stone  and  the  inscribed  sepulchral  slabs  at 
Ewenny,  etc.,  could  be  introduced  in  the  next  edition.  Having  said 
so  much,  we  must,  in  conclusion,  recommend  every  Glamorganshire 
man  and  every  student  of  couuty  history  to  take  the  first  opportu- 
nity of  adding  A  Booke  of  Glamorganshire  Antiquities  to  his  library. 


Cataloque  of  the  Manx  Crosses,  with  the  Inscaiftions  and 
VARiODS  Renderings  Compared.  By  P.  M.  C.  Kbrmode. 
Elliot  Stock.     8vo.,  pp.  36.     Price  1^. 

The  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Cambrian  ArchsBological  Association 
for  1865  was  held  at  Douglas,  in  the  Isle  of  Man,  and  several 
papers  on  Manx  antiquities  have  since  appeared  in  our  Journal, 
the  most  important  perhaps  being  those  on  the  Rune-inscribed 
crosses  from  the  pen  of  the  Rev.  J.  G.  Cumraing.  The  work  of 
investigating  the  early  Christian  remains  of  the  Isle  of  Man,  which 
was  begun  by  Cumming  some  thirty  years  ago,^  is  now  being 
carried  on  by  Mr.  P.  M.  C.  Kermode,  of  Ramsey,  who  is  preparing 
a  book  dealing  exhaustively  with  the  whole  subject.  In  the 
meantime,  he  has  published  the  Catalogue  now  before  us,  contain- 
ing a  list  of  seventy  known  specimens  of  pre^Norman  Manx  crosses, 
with  accurate  descriptions  of  each,  and  readings  of  the  twenty- 
three  inscriptions  which  occur  upon  them.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
overrate  the  scientific  value  of  catalogues  of  this  kind,  and  it 
should  be  the  first  duty  of  the  various  archesological  societies 
throughout  the  country  to  follow  the  good  example  set  by  Mr. 
Kermode  of  preparing  complete  lists  of  all  the  structures  and 
monuments  which  come  within  the  sphere  of  their  operations.     An 

^  Kinnebrock's  Etchings  of  the  Runic  Monuments  of  the  Isle  of  Man  wm 
published  in  1841,  but  ic  was  not  until  Cumming*8  Runic  Remains  of  the 
Isle  of  Man  was  issued  in  IBj?  that  any  real  advance  was  "uade. 


72  REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 

archaeological  survey  such  as  that  saggested  ought,  of  coarse,  to  be 
undertaken  bj  H.M.  Inspector  of  Ancient  Monnment^;^  but,  as 
there  does  not  seem  much  chance  of  any  Government  giving 
assistance  in  a  matter  where  no  votes  are  to  be  gained,  the  sooner 
private  associations  bestir  them<«elves  the  better.  It  is  an  instance 
of  the  strange  apathy  shown  with  regard  to  the  antiquities  of  our 
own  country  that,  although  there  is  an  archaeological  survey  of 
India,  there  is  none  of  Great  Britain.  The  Isle  of  Man,  which  has  a 
separate  government  of  its  own,  may  perhaps  He  able  to  prove  the 
advantage  of  Home-Rule  by  taking  better  care  of  its  national  monu- 
ments. 

Mr.  Kermode  divides  his  book  into  two  parts ;  the  Brst  containing 
descriptions  of  the  crosses,  and  the  second  readings  of  the  inscrip- 
tions. The  arrangement  of  the  whole  is  admirable,  showing  that  no 
small  amount  of  thought  has  been  bestowed  upon  the  working  out 
of  the  various  details.  It  appears  to  us  a  model  of  what  such  a 
catalogue  should  be.  The  names  of  the  places  where  the  stones 
occur  are  placed  in  alphabetical  order.  The  crosses  are  in  almost 
all  cases  found  in  churchyards,  having  been  placed  there  originally, 
or  discovered  during  restorations,  or  removed  for  safety  from  the 
site  of  some  ancient  Treen  chapel  in  the  neighbourhood.  The 
largest  collection  of  ornamented  crosses  is  at  Kirk  Maughold, 
where  there  are  eighteen ;  and  the  greatest  number  of  inscriptions 
in  a  single  place  is  at  Kirk  Michael,  where  there  are  seven.  Each 
stone  is  identified  by  two  numbers,  one  in  Arabic  figures,  referring 
to  the  total  number  of  stones  on  the  island,  and  the  other  in 
Roman  numerals,  referring  to  the  number  of  stones  in  each  par- 
ticular locality.  This  plan  is  very  simple,  and  will  be  found 
convenient.  The  lengths  of  the  descriptions  vary  from  three  lines 
to  half  a  page.  The  particulars  given  are:  (1)  the  position  of  the 
monument  in  the  churchyard,  or  elsewhere ;  (2)  the  shape  of  the 
cross ;  (3)  the  dimensions ;  (4)  the  ornamental  features  and  figure- 
sculpture;  and  (5)  the  iu.scription. 

By  studying  Mr.  Kermode's  Catalogue  with  the  help  of  the 
series  of  excellent  photographs  of  the  crosses  which  have  been 
taken  by  Mr,  George  Patterson  (of  the  Studio,  Ramsey,  Isle  of 
Man),  the  archaeologist  can  obtain  a  far  better  idea  of  the  great 
beauty  and  interest  of  these  remains  of  early  Christian  art  than 
was  possible  from  the  lithographic  illustrations  in  the  Rev.  J.  G. 
Cumming*s  work  on  the  subject.  Several  new  crosses  have  been 
discovered  of  late  years,  amongst  which  the  most  remarkable  is 
that  at  Kirk  Andreas  (No.  5),  v.  On  this  cross  will  be  found  "  a 
strange  mixture  of  Christian  symbolism  and  illustrations  of  the 

^  The  present  Inspector  of  ancient  monuments  has  applied  to  some  of  the 
archaeological  associations  for  information  as  to  what  remains  require  pro> 
tection.  To  give  this  information  really  means  making  an  archsoological 
survey  for  the  benefit  of  H.M.  Inspector,  without  geiting  either  remunera- 
tion or  credit  for  it. 


REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OF  BOOKS.  73 

Sagfls  and  ancient  Northern  mythology."  The  subjects  repre- 
sented are  the  hoand  Lok^  and  Sigurd  roasting  Fafner's  heart  J 

The  inscriptions  on  the  Manx  crosses  are,  with  one  exception 
(at  Kirk  Michael),  in  a  peoaliar  variant  of  the  Scandinavian  Runic 
alphabet  found  in  those  parts  of  Western  Scotland  which  were 
ravaged  by  the  Vikings  in  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries.  This 
alphabet  is  characterised  by  the  point-ed  E  and  s,  and  is  quite 
distinct  from  the  Anglian  Futhorc  of  Northumbria,  which  belongs 
to  an  earlier  period. 

In  addition  to  his  own  readings  of  the  inscriptions,  Mr.  Kermode 
gives  those  of  the  Rev.  J.  G.  Gumming,  Prof.  Munch,  Mr.  Kneale, 
and  Dr.  Vigfusson.  The  letters  on  the  stone.**  themselves  are 
generally  easily  read,  being  well  cut,  and  not  much  weathered. 
The  stops  between  the  words  also  remove  a  source  of  uncertainty 
in  decipherment  of  many  ancient  inscriptions.  The  differences 
between  the  various  readings  are  therefore  in  most  cases  triflinir, 
and  chiefly  of  interest  to  specialists.  The  names  mentioned,  h'ke 
the  ornament,  show  a  mixture  of  the  Scandinavian  and  Celtic 
element.  In  only  three  instances  is  the  name  of  the  artist  who 
carved  the  cross  given:  at  Kirk  Michael  is  a  cross  made  by  Gant; 
at  Kirk  Andreas  one  by  Gant  Biornsou ;  and  at  Kirk  Michael  one 
by  Thorbiorn. 

The  only  point  on  which  we  feel  inclined  to  differ  with  Mr. 
Kermode  is  as  to  assigning  so  late  a  date  as  the  early  part  of  the 
twelfth  century  to  most  of  the  crosses.  The  oldest  stones  are 
probably  those  with  rude  incised  crosses,  and  the  pillar  at  San  ton, 
with  an  inscription  in  debased  Latin  capitals.  The  crosses  with 
Runic  inscriptions  belong  to  the  period  of  the  Danish  or  Nor- 
wegian occupation,  a.d.  888  to  1266,  and  it  is  more  probable  that 
they  were  erected  before  a.d.  1066  than  afber.  Unfortunately,  none 
of  the  names  mentioned  in  the  inscriptions  give  any  clue  as  to  their 
age;  but  the  style  of  the  ornamental  features  is  that  of  the  MSS. 
of  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries.  It  must  be  admitted,  on  the 
other  hand,  that  the  font  at  Bridekirk,  in  Cumberland,  with  its 
Runic  inscription,  is  of  the  twelfth  century;  but  this  is  apparently 
a  very  late  survival  of  the  Scandinavian  alphabet  in  this  country. 

Mr.  Kermode  has  been  doing  really  good  work  by  giving  lec- 
tures during  the  past  year  on  the  Manx  crosses  at  the  places  where 
the  monuments  exist,  with  a  view  to  interest  the  inhabitants  in 
their  preservation ;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  his  efforts  in  this 
direction  will  be  well  rewarded.  We  cordially  recommend  every 
member  of  the  Cambrian  ArchaBological  Association  to  add  Mr. 
Kermode's  Catalogue  to  his  library;  and  those  who  are  induced 
thereby  to  spend  a  week  or  fortnight's  summer  holiday  in  exploring 
the  antiquities  of  the  Isle  of  Man  will  find  this  little  book  of  the 
utmost  value  in  facilitating  their  researches.     We  shall  look  forward 

'  See  paper  on  the  "  Early  Christian  Monuments  of  the  Isle  of  Man*\  by 
J.  Romilly  Allen,  Esq.,  in  Jour/i.  Brit.  ArchcBol,  Astoc,  yo\.  xliii. 


74  REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 

to  the  appearance,  afc  no  distant  time,  of  the  larger  work,  of  which 
this  is  only  the  foretaste ;  and  we  most  heartily  sympathise  with 
Mr.  Kermode*8  persistent  efforts  to  get  the  Manx  crosses  pro- 
tected from  the  weather,  and  preserved  from  injary  at  the  hands  of 
thoughtless  or  malicioas  persons. 


A  History  of  Liti'le  England  beyond  Walks,  and  the  Non-Kymfic 
Colony  settled  in  Pembrokeshire.  By  Edward  Laws.  Lon- 
don :  George  Bell  and  Sons.     4to.     Price  25«. 

(first  notice.) 

Many  of  our  members  are  aware  that  Mr.  Edward  Laws,  of 
Tenby,  has  long  been  engaged  on  writing  a  history  of  Pembroke- 
shire, and  also  know  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  any  one 
better  Rtt«d  for  so  arduous  a  task,  notwithstanding  his  modest 
disclaimer  in  the  Preamble.  We  have  just  received  the  advance 
sheets  of  his  work,  which  will  take  the  form  of  a  handsome  qaarto 
volume,  dedicated,  '*  in  grateful  remembrance  of  pleasant  summer 
duys  speut  in  good  company,  to  the  President,  officers,  and  mem> 
bers  of  the  Cambrian  ArchsBological  Association,  by  their  General 
Secretary  for  the  Southern  Division." 

Fenton's  History,  whatever  its  merits  may  have  been  at  the 
time  it  was  written,  in  the  early  part  of  the  present  century,  is 
now  quite  out  of  date.  The  development  of  the  science  of  pre- 
historic archsBology  has  thrown  an  entirely  new  light  on  the  age 
and  culture  of  the  early  inhabitants  of  Great  Britain ;  so  that  it  is 
now  no  longer  necessary  to  invoke  the  aid  of  the  Devil,  the  Druid 
high  priest,  revelling  in  bloody  human  sacrifices,  or  even  the 
dainty  little  fairy,  endowed  with  supernatural  power,  to  explain 
how  the  huge  capstone  of  the  cromlech  was  raised  upon  its  sup- 
ports. History,  no  doubt,  has  l0)t  much  of  its  romance,  bat  it  has 
gained  in  truth.  If  man  was  little  better  than  a  superior  kind  of 
ape  in  his  earlier  stages,  as  the  disciples  of  Darwin  would  have  us 
believe,  it  is  satisfactory  to  know  the  cold  climate  of  northern 
latitudes  soon  sharpened  up  his  intellect  sufficiently  to  enable  him 
to  make  quite  creditable  drawings  of  the  mammoth  and  the  rein- 
deer, and  that  the  *'  Flint  Jack"  of  the  nineteenth  century  finds  the 
attempt  to  forge  his  stone  weapons  tax  his  powers  to  the  utmost. 
The  great  advances  made  recently  in  the  study  of  comparative 
philology,  folk-lore,  anthropology,  and  other  subjects,  by  means  of 
which  our  knowledge  of  the  past  as  derived  from  written  docu- 
ments alone  may  be  vastly  increased,  enables  the  historian  of  the 
present  day  to  take  a  far  more  comprehensive  view  of  the  progress 
made  by  the  human  race  in  any  given  geographical  area,  such  aa 
Pembrokeshire,  than  was  possible  in  Feuton*s  day.  At  the  same 
time  that  new  sciences  which  supplement,  or  in  some  cases  supply, 
ihe  place  of  history  have  been  introduced,  new  sources  of  iuforma- 
tion  have  been  made  available  by  the  opening  up  of  the  national 


REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OF  BOOKS.  75 

records.  Besides  having  all  the  improved  methods  of  modern 
research  at  his  disposal,  Mr.  Laws  has,  as  he  tells  ns  in  his 
Preamble,  "carefally  and  reverentially  sought  inspiration  from 
the  genius  loci,**  Unlike  the  traveller  who  spends  a  conplo  of 
days  in  Constantinople,  and  straightway  sits  down  complacently  to 
write  a  book  on  the  ''cnstoms  and  manners  of  the  East",  Mr. 
Laws  has  "gmdged  neither  time  nor  labour,  and  has  for  years 
past  scoured  the  county  from  Carn  Euglyn  to  St.  Govan's  Head, 
from  Monkstone  Point  to  Ramsey  Island — examining,  measuring, 
dig^cing,  asking  questions,  and  taking  notes.'* 

We  will  now  proceed  to  diKCuss  the  conclasions  arrived  at  by 
oar  author  after  so  much  patient  labour,  and  hope  to  be  able  to 
fthow  how  successfully  he  has  dealt  with  the  difficult  problems 
which  have  to  be  solved  before  the  tangled  skein  of  the  history  of 
tho  conquests  of  this  ultima  Tkule  of  Wales  by  successive  waves  of 
foreign  races  can  be  unravelled. 

The  first  chapter  commences  with  a  brief  sketch  of  the  geology 
of  Pembrokeshire,  as  a  somewhat  necessary  preliminary  to  the 
introduction  of  our  old  friend  the  prehistoric  man  to  the  reader. 
Those  members  of  the  Cambrian  Archsdological  Association  who 
have  dabbled  in  geology  probably  already  know  of  the  great 
discoveries  made  by  Dr.  Henry  Hicks  in  the  pre- Cambrian  rocks 
near  St.  David's,  and  perhaps  have  spent  many  a  pleasant  day, 
armed  with  the  indispensable  hammer,  collecting  the  trilobites  fur 
which  the  cliffs  and  quarries  of  Pembrokeshire  are  so  famous. 
The  greater  part  of  the  first  chapter  is,  however,  taken  up  with  a 
description  of  the  bone-caves  of  Hoyle's  Mouth,  Caldy  Island, 
Coygan,  etc. ;  and  a  very  valuable  table  is  given  at  the  end, 
showing  the  various  species  of  animals  whose  bones  have  been 
found  imbedded  in  the  floors  of  the  caves.  These  include  the  cave- 
bear,  hysBua,  lion,  mammoth,  woolly  rhinoceros,  hippopotamus, 
reindeer,  elk,  and  smaller  camivora.  Thus  the  following  erux 
presents  itself  to  Pembrokeshire  cave-searchers:  '*How  comes  it 
that  the  caves  situated  in  the  little  island  of  Caldy  contain  a  vast 
collection  of  bones,  representing  large  herds  of  mammoth,  rhinor 
oeros,  etc.,  whilst  the  forage  produced  on  so  small  an  island  would 
prove  insufficient  to  keep  half-a-dozen  of  these  great  mammals  for 
a  week  ?"  Prof.  Boyd  Dawkins  assumes  that  the  earth's  surface 
must  have  sunk  about  one  hundred  fathoms  since  the  period  of  the 
great  mammals;  so  that  the  islands  and  cliffs  of  South  Wales 
would  have  been  hills  overlooking  a  vast  fertile  plain,  occupying 
what  is  now  the  Bristol  Channel,  where  ample  sustenance  would 
be  found  to  feed  the  herds  of  elephants,  horses,  and  reindeer.  It 
is  very  much  to  be  regretted  that  the  remains  found  in  the  Hoyle's 
Month  cave  have  '*  been  remorselessly  tumbled  over  and  over  by 
generations  of  Tenby  tourists,  till  its  products  are  so  mixed  as  to 
be  of  little  value".  Consequently,  the  scientific  evidence  derived 
from  this  source,  which  would  otherwise  be  of  the  highest  possible 
value,  is  now  very  unsatisfactory.     However,  Mr.  Laws  thinks  that 


76  REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 

Hoyle's  Month  was  inhabited  by  man  in  paleeolithio  times  ;  and  at 
the  Coygan  he  found  an  awl  and  two  flint  flakes  in  the  un- 
disturbed earth  beneath  the  sialaormite,  associated  with  the  bones 
of  the  rhinoceros,  and  therefore  of  the  palfleolithic  age.  These  are 
now  in  the  Tenby  Museum.  It  is  satisfactory  to  learn  that  at  all 
events  one  of  the  Pembrokeshire  bone-caves  has  b^en  examined  by 
persons  competent  to  arrive  at  reliable  con(!lusions  as  to  the  results 
of  their  investigations.  Mr.  Laws  tells  us  that  *'  the  most  instruct- 
ive neolithic  find  that  has  hitherto  been  discovered  in  Pembroke- 
shire was  unearthed  from  the  cave  known  as  the  Little  Hoyle,  in 
Longbury  Bauk,  Penally,  by  Mr.  Wilmot  Power,  the  late  Professor 
Rolleston,  General  Pitt  Rivers,  and  myself,  in  the  years  1876-77-78. 
We  found  the  remains  of  certainly  nine,  if  not  eleven,  human 
beings,  large  quantities  of  the  bone's  of  domestic  and  wild  animals, 
birds,  shells,  pottery,  charcoal,  stone  and  bone  implements.*' 

Clifi*  castles,  hut-circles,  cromlechs,  barrows,  kitchen-middens, 
and  flint-flake  factories  are  all  described  as  belonging  to  the  neo- 
lithic period.  It  appears  that  Skomer  Island  is  covered  with  hut- 
circles  which  have  never  been  explored ;  but  now  that  Mr.  Laws 
has  called  attention  to  their  existence,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
permission  may  be  obtained  to  have  them  properly  excavated. 
'J'he  question  of  the  method  of  burial  adopted  by  the  neolithic 
inhabitants  of  Pembrokeshire  is  one  of  great  interest.  In  England 
the  barrows  of  the  neolithic  man  are  elongated  in  shape,  instead  of 
being  round,  like  those  of  the  subsequent  bronze  period.  The  bodies 
are  buried,  not  burnt;  and  the  skulls  are  long-headed,  or  of  the 
dolichocephalic  type,  instead  of  being  round-headed,  or  brachy- 
eephalic.  No  such  burial-places  are,  however,  to  be  found  in  West 
Wales,  and  Mr.  Laws  concludes  that  the  sepulchral  remains  of  this 
period  are  represented  by  the  cromlechs,  m^n-hirs,  and  alignments  of 
stones.  The  Tenby  Museum  possesses  a  good  collection  of  polished 
stone  axes,  the  discovery  of  some  of  which  near  cromlechs,  like  those 
at  Fynondruidion  and  Longhouse,  goes  far  to  support  Mr.  Laws* 
theory. 

The  introduction  of  bronze  as  a  material  for  the  manufacture  of 
cutting  implements  was  probably  due  to  a  conquering  race  of 
Aryan  origin,  who  rapidly  exterminated  the  small-boned  long- 
headed neolithic  man,  armed  only  with  a  stone  weapon.  Our 
knowledge  of  the  Welshman  of  the  bi»onze  age  is  derived  chiefly 
from  excavations  made  in  the  numerous  round  barrows  in  which 
he  buried  his  dead.  Many  of  the  tumuli  have  been  destroyed  in 
the  course  of  farming  operations ;  but  accounts  of  the  opening  of 
thirty-two  of  those  in  Pembrokeshire  have  been  preserved,  from 
which  a  very  fair  idea  can  be  formed  of  the  methods  of  burial  in 
Yogue  during  the  bronze  age.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  finds  is 
a  bronze  ribbed  vessel  from  a  cairn  at  Meinau'r  Gwyr,  near  Llan- 
dysilio.  The  body  was  cremated,  and  the  burnt  bones  placed  in 
a  mdely-balced  clay  urn,  mouth  downwards,  within  a  stone  cist, 
covered  with  a  mound  of  earth.     The  so-called  incense-cups,  which 


REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OF  BOOKS.  77 

are  foand  generally  in  connection  with  bronze  age  barials,  are  rare 
in  Pembrokeshire  ;  but  there  is  another  example  besides  those 
mentioned  by  Mr.  Laws,  which  was  dug  up  near  Boulston,  and 
now  belongs  to  Mr.  Thomas  Allen. 

Bocking-stones  are  described  in  the  chapter  on  the  bronze  age, 
and  a  passage  quoted  from  Strabo,  with  a  view  to  showing  that 
they  were  used  for  religious  purposes.  Strabo  says :  "  There  were 
in  many  parts  three  or  four  stones  placed  together,  which  were 
turned  by  all  travellers  who  arrive  there,  in  accordance  with  certain 
local  custom,  and  are  changed  in  position  by  such  as  turn  them 
incorrectly.  It  is  not  lawful  to  offer  sacrifices  there,  nor  yet  to 
approach  the  place  during  the  night,  for  it  is  said  that  the  gods 
take  up  their  abode  in  this  place."  The  description  here  given 
would  apply  not  so  well  to  rocking- stones  as  to  the  round  water- 
w^orn  pebbles  placed  in  cup-shaped  hollows  in  a  large  stone,  such  as 
are  to  be  found  in  many  parts  of  Ireland,  one  of  which  is  known  as 
St.  Bridget's  Stone.  The  "  horse  wedding"  is  given  at  the  end  of 
this  chapter,  as  an  instance  of  the  survival  of  a  custom  which  owes 
its  origin  to  the  ezogamous  marriages  prevailing  in  the  bronze  age, 
and,  whether  this  be  so  or  not,  will  be  of  great  interest  to  the 
student  of  folk-lore. 

The  occupation  of  Pembrokeshira  by  the  Romans  seems  to  be 
pretty  conclusively  proved  by  the  discovery  of  large  numbers  of 
Roman  coins  in  the  Longbury  cave,  a  piece  of  Samian  ware,  bronze 
fibul«9,  etc.  A  complete  list  is  given  of  the  Roman  coins  found  in 
Pembrokeshire,  with  dates  of  the  deaths  of  the  different  emperors, 
and  particulars  of  the  finds.  Fenton  distinctly  states  that  remains 
of  Roman  masonry  were  discovered  in  his  time  at  Ford  and  Castle 
Flemfsh;  but  Mr.  Laws  has  not  been  able  to  verify  this  in  a  satis- 
factory manner. 

Having  now  come  to  the  end  of  that  portion  of  Little  England 
beyond  Wales  which  deals  with  Pembrokeshire  previous  to  the 
introduction  of  Christianity,  we  must  leave  the  remainder  for  a 
future  notice. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  work  is  the  most  important  con- 
tribution towards  the  history  of  Wales  which  has  appeared  for  a 
very  long  time.  The  worst  fault  that  an  author  can  commit  is  to 
bore  his  readers,  and  this  Mr.  Laws  carefully  avoids,  for  there  is 
not  a  dull  page  in  the  whole  book.  Even  when  dealing  with  such 
apparently  uninteresting  topics  as  dolichocephalic  and  brachycephalic 
skulls,  he  does  not  fail  to  express  his  meaning  clearly,  and  make 
the  reader,  like  Oliver  Twist,  feel  inclined  to  ask  for  more.  It  is 
really  one  of  the  first,  if  not  the  first,  county  history  which  has 
taken  full  advantage  of  the  modern  researches  in  prehistoi'ic  arches- 
ology,  philology,  anthropology,  and  folk-lore.  History  is  here 
treated  as  a  science,  and  not  as  a  literary  amusement;  and  Little 
England  beyond  Wales  is  as  much  in  advance  of  Fenton's  Pembroke- 
shire  as  the  bronze  age  was  superior  to  that  of  stone.  Mr.  Laws* 
book  will  be  cordially  welcomed,  not  only  by  every  WeLshmaUj  but 


78  REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OP  BOOKS. 

will  be  indispensable  to  all  stn dents  of  the  history  of  man  in 
Britain.  The  general  get-np  of  the  work  does  credit  alike  to 
author  and  publisher. 


The  Welsh  Language  in  the  Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth  Cen- 
TUEiEs.  By  Ivor  James,  Registrar  of  the  University  College 
of  South  Wales  and  Monmouthshire.  Reprinted  from  The 
Btd  Dragon.     Cardiflf :  Daniel  Owen  and  Co.     8vo. 

Throughout  the  period  from  the  complete  conquest  of  the  Princi- 
pality by  Edward  I  to  the  Reformation  a  steady  deterioration  is 
perceptible  in  the  purity  of  the  Welsh  language,  by  the  absorption 
into  it  of  a  constantly  increasing  number  of  English  words.  Dimly 
traceable  in  the  later  writers  of  the  Welsh  Augustan  era,  it  becomes 
apparent  in  the  poems  of  Dafydd  ap  Gwilym,  still  more  evident  in 
those  of  Rhys  Goch,  and  reaches  its  lowest  depth  in  the  Dictionary 
of  William  Salesbury.  The  language  continued  to  exhibit  every 
B\gn  of  degeneracy  until  the  close  of  the  Civil  War ;  but  from  this 
date  it  not  only  began  to  revive,  but  to  purify  itself  from  many  of 
the  foreign  words  it  had  acquired  during  its  gradual  decadence. 
It  is  the  story  of  this  fall  and  revival  that  Mr.  James  has  sketched 
in  the  pamphlet  now  before  us.  Salesbury 's  Dictionary  gives 
plain  evidence  of  the  influence  exerted  by  Norman  civilisation  upon 
the  Welsh,  and  of  a  different  state  of  society  to  that  portrayed  in 
the  poems  of  Cynddelw.  This  important  work  was  published  in 
1547,  almost  three  quarters  of  a  century  after  Caxton's  first  issue 
from  the  press.  It  is  formed  of  words  used  in  the  daily  speech  of 
the  people  o£  Salesbury's  native  county  of  Denbigh,  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  a  great  number  current  in  other  Welsh -speaking  districts, 
more  especially  South- Wales.  The  latter  are  found  in  abundance 
in  the  Rev.  Rees  Prichard's  Canwijll  y  Cymry^  published  a  century 
later.  According  to  Mr.  James,  about  one-fifth  of  Salesbury's 
words  bear  the  marks  of  comparatively  recent  introduction  from  the 
prevailing  speech  of  the  English  people,  whilst  he  reckons  the 
same  element  in  Prichard's  work  to  number  about  six  hundred. 
A  list  of  those  to  be  found  in  the  latter  is  given,  and  Mr.  James 
believes  that  an  analysis  of  the  colloquial  Welsh  of  to-day  would 
vield  a  considerable  addition  to  those  drawn  from  Salesbury  and 
Prichard.  After  examination  of  the  facts  detailed  by  the  author, 
no  doubt  can  be  entertained  that,  at  the  beginning  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  the  Welsh  language  "  was  rapidly  giving  way 
before  the  onward  march  of  English".  His  further  contention 
that  this  decline  was  due  to  a  deliberate  effort  to  sweep  the  lan- 
guage entirely  away  is  not  so  conclusively  proved.  In  the  interval 
between  Salesbury  and  Prichard  appeared  various  editions  of  the 
Bible  and  Common  Praver,  as  well  as  several  other  works,  either 
wholly  or  partially  in  Welsh,  by  Dr.  G.  Roberts,  Dr.  J.  D.  Rhys, 
Morup  Kyffin,  and  a  few  others.  These  writers  are  each  very 
bitter  against   the  Anglicising  tendencies  of  tlieir   day,  and   M?\ 


REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OF  BOOKS.  79 

James  considers  they  furnish  evidence  of  a  systematic  attempt  to 
destroy  the  Welsh  language  as  the  ordinary  speech  of  the  people. 
Their  observations  are  nndonbtedly  directed  against  Salesbary  and 
those  whose  desire  it  was  to  bring  the  two  conntries  into  complete 
harmony  of  speech  and  interests ;  but  it  is  by  no  means  so  clear 
that  the  latter  aimed  at  attaining  this  result  by  *' destroying"  the 
language  of  their  fellow-countrymen.  Salesbury's  object  seems, 
from  the  preface  to  his  Dictionary,  to  have  been  rather  to  make 
them  bilingual  than  wholly  English.  He  refers,  with  an  appear^ 
anoe  of  sympathy,  to  the  many  that  ^'readeth  perfectly  the  Welsh 
tongue" ;  nor  must  it  be  forgotten  that  he  wrote  several  works  in 
Welsh  after  the  issue  of  the  Dictionary.  The  tendency  of  society 
in  Wales,  as  well  on  the  part  of  the  English- born  members  of  the 
eommunity  as  of  the  native  Welsh,  was  towards  the  adoption  of 
Anglican  habits,  speech,  and  modes  of  thought.  Many  event-s  had 
conspired  to  set  the  stream  in  this  direction ;  the  accession  of 
Henry  YII,  and  the  consequent  opening  of  posts  of  honour  and 
emolument  to  the  Welsh  ;  the  advance  of  the  New  Learning, 
which  had  a  remarkably  stimulating  effect  upon  the  youth  of  the 
Principality  ;  and  the  strong  national  feeling  that  led  to  the  con- 
gregation of  the  best  spirits  of  the  time  around  Elizabeth — all 
these,  and  divers  other  forces  whose  influence  it  is  now  impossible 
to  estimate,  led  to  a  desire  for  firm  union  around  a  throne,  to  the 
establishment  of  which  Welshman  had  helped  equally  with  English- 
man. The  authors  who  wrote  in  the  vernacular,  and  uttered 
dolorous  cries  at  the  decline  of  Welsh,  deal  only  in  generalities ; 
had  proof  of  a  calculated  attempt  to  smother  the  language  by 
persons  of  official  station  been  possible,  it  would  have  been  forth- 
ooming.  The  forces  operating  in  those  days  were  the  same  as  are 
at  work  in  our  own ;  the  main  difference  being,  that  the  ver- 
nacular press  now  gives  the  language  a  support  that  was  entirely 
absent  in  the  seventeenth  century. 

The  circumstances  that  led  to  the  eventual  triumph  of  Welsh  are 
well,  though  briefly,  told  by  Mr.  James.  '  The  issue  of  Myddelton 
and  Heylyn*s  cheap  Bible  in  1630,  and  of  the  Dictionary  of  the 
Rev.  J.  Davies  of  Mallwyd,  turned  the  scale.  The  latter  contained 
ten  thousand  words,  most  of  the  English  words  in  Salesbury  being 
omitted.  This  fact  proves  that,  whilst  the  two  languages  ran  side 
by  side  in  many  districts,  there  were  out-of-the-way  corners  amongst 
the  mountain  valleys  where  Welsh  had  retained  its  vigour  and 
purity ;  and  when  Penry,  in  1587,  alleges  that  there  is  **  never  a 
market  town  where  English  is  not  as  rife  as  Welsh",  we  must  limit 
the  application  of  his  words  to  the  March  district,  from  the  borders 
of  Cheshire  to  the  mouth  of  the  Wye,  and  along  the  seaboard  to 
Pembrokeshire.  Mr.  James  considers,  with  interesting  results,  how 
far  the  Anglicisation  of  this  district  had  proceeded.  He  enters 
upon  the  qucestio  vexata  of  the  Flemings  in  Pembrokeshire  and 
Gower,  which  formed  the  subject  of  one  of  the  most  interesting 
debates  of  our  Society  at  Swansea,  in   1801.     He  breaks  a  lance 


80  REVIEWS  AND  KOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 

with  Dr.  Freeman,  at  that  time  inclined  to  believe  in  the  almost 
complete  depopulation  of  portions  of  those  districts  by  the  Flemings, 
and  there  can  be  no  doabt  that  the  best  and  fairest  discassion  of 
this  question  is  contained  in  Mr.  James's  few  pages. 

With  the  current  runninjr  so  strongly  towards  English,  the  real 
difficulty,  HS  Mr.  James  observes,  is  to  understand  how  so  much  of 
Wales  remained  Welsh  in  speech.     The  Parliamentary  troubles,  how- 
ever, told  hardly  against  the  Welsh  gentry,  who  were  mainly  royalist, 
and  the  ruin  of  the  castles  and  their  occupantsgaveto  the  ancient 
language,  aided  by  the  issue  of  popular  works,  the  opportunity  of 
retrieving  its   lost   ground.      Mr.  James,  in   a   lecture   delivered 
before  the  Cymmrodorion  Society  of  London,  which  that  Society 
has  not  published   in  its  Transactions^  has  followed  the  fortunes 
of  the  Welsh  youth  who,  during  the   prevalence  of  the  English 
fashion,  and  through  the  succeeding  generation,  sought  their  edu- 
cation at  Oxford  and  their  career  in  English  public  life.     In  the 
century  and   a  half  from  1558  to  1714,   at   least  fifty  Welshmen 
were  raised  to  the  episcopal  bench,  and  within  the  same  period 
the  Welsh  gradnntes  at  Oxford  were  out  of  all  proportion  to  the 
numbers  at  the  University.     The  avenues  of  temporal  success  wei-e 
closed  against  the  Cymry  of  a  later  generation  by  the  ruin  of  the 
Welsh  gentry  under  the  Commonwealth  (**  for  them  there  was  no 
Restoration",  says  Mr.  James),  and  the  coincident  revival  of  the 
old  language.     It  is  a  pity  that  Mr.  James  has  not  added  his  lec- 
ture upon  Charles  Edwards  to  the  present  essay :  each  forms  the 
complement  to  the  other.      The  mastery  shown  over  his  subject, 
his   remarkable   acquaintance   with   the   Welsh   literature  of    the 
period  since  the  Reformation,  his  impartiality  and  critical  acumen, 
his  clear  and  Incid  style,  all  point  him  out  as  the  one  man  capable 
of  writing  a  satisfsctory  history  of  Welsh  society  and  literature 
from  the  reign  of  Henry  VII  to  the  revival  of  letters  that  may  be 
said  to  have  begun  with  the  present  century. 


The  Beaufort  Progress  through  Wales  in  1684. — An  account 
of  the  first  Duke  of  Beaufoi-t's  Progress,  as  Lord  President  of  the 
Council  in  Wales,  through  Wales  and  the  Marches  in  1684,  was 
printed  for  private  circulation  in  1864,  at  the  present  Duke's  ex- 
pense, from  the  original  MS.  of  Thomas  Dingley,  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  late  Mr.  Charles  Baker,  in  a  handsomely  printed 
volume,  with  a  limited  number  of  woodcuts  of  the  pen  and  ink 
sketches,  which  are  incorporated  in  the  text.  As  the  work  was  a 
private  one,  limited  to  100  copies,  the  knowledge  of  its  contents  has 
been  confined  to  a  few.  The  occasional  extracts  which  have  ap- 
peared in  the  A rchceologia  Catnbrejisis  and  elsewhere  have  given  rise 
to  a  desire  that  a  work  of  such  interest  should  bo  reprinted  for 
general  circulation. 

With  this  view  an  application  was  recently  made  to  His  Grace 
on  behalf  of  the  Cambrian  Archeeological  Association,  that  he  would 


REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OF  BOOKS.  81 

permit  the  MS.  to  be  reprinted  by  the  Society.  His  Orace  readily 
gave  bis  assent  to  the  application,  and  suggested  that  the  work 
would  be  more  valnable  if  the  MS.,  with  all  the  sketches  in  the 
text  of  castles,  mansions,  churches,  monaments,  and  coat-armour, 
were  reproduced. 

Acting  on  His  Grace's  suggestion,  inquiry  wa»  made  whether 
Messrs.  Blades,  East,  and  Blades,  well  known  as  engravers  and 
printers  in  fac-simile,  were  willing  to  publish  a  fac-simile  of  the 
entire  MS.,  and  on  what  terms.  On  their  agreeing  to  undertake 
the  work  (provided  an  adequate  nunvber  of  copies  to  compensate 
them  for  the  trouble  and  expense  were  subscribed  for).  His  Grace 
deposited  his  MS.  with  them  for  the  purpose. 

In  1867  the  Camden  Society  published  a  similar  work  of  Thomas 
Dingley,  History  from  Marble^  in  fac-simile  of  the  original  MS.  in 
the  possession  of  the  late  Sir  T.  E.  Winnington,  Bart.,  by  the  pro- 
cess of  photo-lithography,  with  an  elaborate  Introduction  by  the 
late  Mr.  J.  Gough  Nichols,  F.S.A.,  in  two  pai*ts,  which  the  author, 
in  his  account  of  the  Dake's  Progress,  refers  to  as  his  English 
Jonmal. 

The  Progress,  abounding  as  it  does  with  pen  and  ink  illnstra- 
tions  of  the  text,  can  only  be  satisfactorily  published  by  photo- 
lithography. 

The  MS.  consists  of  354  pages,  excln]»ive  of  two  maps,  equal  to 
5  pages  more.  In  order  to  reproduce  the  MS.  satisfactorily,  many 
difficulties  which  involve  time  and  labour  have  to  be  overcome. 

The  pnblishers,  with  a  view  to  place  the  work  in  general  eircula- . 
tion,  have  assented  to  issue  it  at  the  price  of  £1  \s.  for  each  copy, 
in  quarto,  bound  in  clot.h  and  lettered,  provided  200  copies  are  sub* 
scribed  for.  130  are  already  subscribed  for.  This  edition  will  be 
limited  to  350  copies ;  and  a  special  edition  of  25  copies,  numbered, 
etc.,  in  the  usual  way,  on  large  paper,  will  be  issued  to  subscribers 
at  X3  38. 

The  price  of  a  copy  to  non^ubscribers  will  be  £1  11«.  6«f. 

As  the  MS.  must  be  returned  soon  to  the  Duke  of  Beaufort,  an 
early  application  for  copies  should  be  made  to  the  publishers,  not 
later  than  the  1st  of  April,  as  after  that  date  no  further  subscrip- 
tions can  be  received. 


Index  to  the  Arch^ologu  Cambrensis. — The  index  to  the  first 
four  Series  of  the  Archceologia  GanibreneiB  is  now  ready  for  the  press. 
It  is  proposed  to  print  250  copies  at  78,  6d.  each  to  members  of  the 
Association.  Subscribers'  names  should  be  sent  to  the  Editors  as 
soon  as  possible. 


5th  bmr.,  vol.  t. 


82 


CAMBKIAN  ARCfHiEOLOGICAL   ASSOCIATION. 


STATEMENT  OF  ACCOUNTS  FOR  1887. 


BBCBIPTS. 


Cash  in  hand,  Jan.  1 
Arrears  of  subscriptions 
Subscriptions  for  1887 
Denbigh  Local  Fund 


£  s.  d, 

242  3    2 

114  8    3 

U7  0    0 

32  2    0 


£636  13    6 


Balance  in  Treasurer's 
hands,  Jan.  1,  1888    £242  16     7 


PAYMENTS. 


Archdeacon  Thomas  for 

Editors  .50 

Ditto,  on  account  of  ludex  20 
Ditto,  disbursements  and 

postages  ...  4 
Secretaries'disbursements  6 
W.  G.  Smith,  engraving  17 
Ditto,  Denbigh  Meeting  5 
Hill  &  Co.,  photo-similes  13 
Treasurer's  disbursements  0 
Lloyd  &  Co.,  engraving 
and  photo-lithographs 
Whiting  and  Co.,  print- 
ing Journal 
Blades,Ea8t,  &  Co.,  photo- 
lithography 9 
Society  of  Antiquaries  .  1 
Cattell  &  Co.,  photo-lith.  12 
Witthaus  &  Co.,  ditto  .  9 
Adnitt&Naunton,printer8  2 
Mr.  S.W.WUliams,Strata 

Florida       ...      6 
To  balance     .  .242 


£   s,   d. 


0  0 

0  0 

2  0 

8  1 

10  0 

5  0 

18  0 

16  6 


6  10    0 
129  15    1 


6  6 
1  0 

12  8 

4  6 

7  6 

0  0 

16  7 


£535  13    5 


Examined  and  found  correct, 


Jan.  28,  1888. 


Ji.MB8  Dayibs  ) 
D.  R.  Thomas    ) 


Auditor i. 


^ircftHeuIujgia  Camtr^nsii 


FIFTH  SERIES.— VOL.  F,  NO,  XVIIL 


APRIL  1888. 


ACCOUNT  OP  THE  OPENING  OF  A  BARROW 
IN  THE  PARISH  OF  COLWINSTON, 

GLAMORGANSHIRE. 

BT  F.  a.  HILTON   PRICB,  ESQ.,  F.S.A. 

( Reprinted  from  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Antiqwtries  of  London,  2nd  Seriee^ 
vol.  xi,  py  430,  by  kind  permiuion  of  the  Council,  and  witA  the  sanction  of  the 
Author.) 

This  barrow  which  is  now  about  to  be  described  is 
situated  within  a  few  feet  of  the  high-road  from  Cow- 
bridge  to  Bridgend,  at  a  place  called  the  Golden 
Mile,  upon  the  estate  of  Mrs.  Collins  Prichard  of 
Pwlly  wrach,  the  lady  of  the  manor. 

Some  years  ago  it  is  asserted  that  the  then  owner 
of  the  property^  wishing  to  satisfy  his  curiosity,  made 
an  opening  into  the  mound  from  the  north  side,  near 
the  centre,  and,  as  might  be  expected,  did  not  find 
any  interment ;  and,  upon  meeting  with  large  stones 
at  a  distance  of  about  twenty  feet  from  the  outside, 
he  gave  up  the  venture  as  hopeless.  The  next  exca- 
vation was  made  by  Mr.  Collins  Prichard  about  two 
years  ago.  He  entered  the  barrow  from  the  east  end, 
driving  a  narrow  trench  in  about  twenty  feet,  and 
gradually  expanding  it  at  the  centre.  He  met  with 
no  less  than  nine  vessels  of  British  pottery,  all  arranged 
near  the  centre,  at  short  distances  apart ;  each,  it  is 

6th  ssb.,  yol.  v.  7 


84  OPENING  OF  A  BARROW 

said,  was  placed  upon  a  flat  stone,  with  stones  arranged 
round  the  sides,  and  a  large  stone  upon  the  top  as  a 
cover.  The  vessels  are  stated  for  the  most  part  to 
have  contained  calcined  human  bones,  and  in  one  was 
a  flint  knife.  As  this  excavation  had  been  made  in 
the  hopes  of  discovering  treasure,  the  find  was  not 
considered  to  be  of  any  value ;  therefore,  these  cine- 
rary urns  and  food-vessels,  some  of  -which  were,  from 
descriptions  given,  of  an  ornamental  character,  were 
permitted  to  fall  in  pieces,  and  at  the  present  time 
only  one  small  fragment,  about  two  or  three  inches 
square,  is  all  that  remains  of  them.  Thus  no  exact 
particulars  are  known  of  this  important  find.  The 
next  time  the  barrow  w^as  dug  into  was  in  March  1887; 
this  time  by  Mr.  J.  C.  Priestley,  who  was  then  a  guest 
of  Mrs.  Collins  Prichard.  He  having  heard  what  had 
formerly  been  found  in  the  Twmpath  (the  name  by 
which  the  barrow  is  known),  determined  to  ascertain  for 
himself  if  there  were  any  burials  left.  He  obtained 
the  valuable  assistance  of  Mr.  Bertie  Prichard,  and  in 
the  course  of  an  hour  he  met  with  a  cinerary  urn, 
filled  with  calcined  bones.  It  was  discovered  about 
six  feet  from  the  centre,  upon  the  south-east  side  of 
the  barrow,  near  the  edge  of  the  trench  that  had  been 
made  by  Mr.  Collins  Prichard.  This  cinerary  urn  had 
been  placed  upon  the  earth  with  stones  built  up  to 
protect  the  sides,  and  one  large  one  placed  upon  the 
top.  Mr.  Priestley  succeeded  in  getting  this  fine 
specimen,  which  is  called  No.  1  interment,  without 
any  mishap.  It  is  1  foot  2  inches  high,  1  foot  1^  inch 
in  diameter,  and  3  feet  5  inches  in  circumference  at 
the  widest  part.  It  is  ornamented  with  three  lines 
made  with  twisted  thong,  pressed  into  the  clay  when 
moist ;  then  follows  a  wide  zigzag  ornament  made  in 
the  same  manner,  below  which  are  again  three  lines, 
likewise  made  by  the  impression  of  twisted  thong ; 
and  immediately  below  these  last  lines  are  thumb- 
markings,  on  a  raised  rib  running  round  the  wide 
part  of  the  urn.     There  is  a  similar  raised  rib  with 


IN  THE  PARISH  OF  C0LWIN8T0N.  85 

thumb- markings  three  inches  beneath  the  firat.  The 
urn  contained  calcined  bones  at  the  bottom,  the  top 
part  being  occupied  by  fine  earth.  Upon  examining 
the  contents,  mixed  with  the  human  bones  towards 
the  bottom  of  the  vessel,  but  in  the  centre,  was  the 
skeleton  of  a  mole,  twenty-two  lower  jaw-bones  of  the 


in  the  Furiih  ol  Ci 


field-mouse,  and  eleven  lower  jaw-bones  of  the  shrew- 
mouse  ;  also  a  quantity  of  small  rib-bones.  The_ ques- 
tion arises,  How  did  these  animal  bones  get  into  the 
urn  ?  The  um  was  unbroken,  the  earth  inside  was 
convex  on  the  top,  and  the  covering-stone  apparently 


86  OPENING  OF  A  BARROW 

fitted  tight,  there  being  a  perfect  black  circle  upon  it, 
the  impression  of  the  top  of  the  vessel.  It  would 
appear  from  these  facts  that  the  bones  were  deposited 
at  the  time  of  the  interment.  Indeed,  animals  desti- 
tute of  upper  jaws  could  not  have  worked  their  way 
in.  The  calcined  bones  were  submitted  to  Dr.  Garson, 
of  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons,  who  pronounced 
them  to  be  human  and  adult;  mixed  with  them  were 
a  few  fragments  of  bones  of  pig,  also  burnt,  probably 
the  remains  of  the  funeral  feast.  This  urn  has  been 
presented  to  the  British  Museum. 

Interment  No.  2  was  found  about  two  feet  to  the 
east  of  No.  1,  upon  the  south  side  of  the  excavation. 
It  consisted  of  a  fine  cinerary  urn,  more  highly  orna- 
mented than  No.  1,  with  the  twisted  thong  in  various 
patterns.  Its  dimensions  are  as  follow:  height  14f 
inches;  diameter  of  mouth,  13^  inches;  and  the  great- 
est diameter,  14^  inches.  It  was  placed  upon  a  stone 
slab,  with  protecting  stones  for  the  sides  and  top,  and 
was  filled  with  burnt  bones,  among  which  was  a  bone 
pin  calcined,  two  inches  in  length,  with  a  large  eye, 
the  end  broken  off.  It  is  well  made,  and  one-third 
of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  no  doubt  served  to  fasten 
the  garment  on  the  body  before  the  cremation  took 
place.  Such  pins  do  not  appear  to  be  of  common 
occurrence,  as  Canon  Green  well  has  only  met  with 
four  of  them  associated  with  burnt  bones,  and  twelve 
unburnt  bodies,  each  accompanied  by  a  pin  (Britvih 
Barrows  J  p.  31).  One  rather  similar  is  figured  in 
British  Barrows,  p.  352,  fig.  141. 

Mr.  Priestley,  having  obtained  permission  to  make 
a  thorough  examination  of  this  barrow,  invited  me  to 
join  him,  and,  through  the  hospitality  of  Mrs.  Prichard, 
we  were  entertained  during  the  week.  We  com- 
menced operations  on  the  25th  April  last,  with  the 
gamekeeper,  David  Mainwaring,  and  three  labourers. 
The  barrow  is  58  feet  in  diameter,  and  between  4  and 
5  feet  high.  We  began  on  the  east  side,  by  making  a 
trench  north  and  south,  cutting  off  the  edge,  throwing 


IN  THE   PARISH  OF  COLWINSTON.  87 

back  as  we  went,  until  we  turned  over  the  entire 
barrow,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  portion  at  the 
north-west  end,  which,  judging  from  former  experience  of 
diggers,  rarely  contains  any  remains  of  burials.  Nothing 
whatever  was  found  on  the  north  or  west  sides. 

During  the  process  of  throwing  over  the  earth,  Mr. 
Priestley  discovered,  in  the  body  of  the  mound,  a  flint 
scraper  or  knife,  with  a  trimmed  edge,  an  inch  and 
three-quarters  in  length.  It  is  not  quite  perfect,  as 
the  end  with  the  bulb  of  percussion  is  wanting ;  this, 
and  other  flints  which  were  subsequently  found  in  the 
body  of  the  barrow,  bears  out  the  experience  of  Canon 
Green  well,  who  says,*  •*  There  is  a  fact  connected  with 
these  implements,  and  of  some  interest  in  itself,  which 
becomes  of  importance  from  the  evidence  it  affords  in 
relation  to  the  cause  of  such  articles  being  deposited 
with  the  dead.  Those  implements  of  flint  which  are 
found  placed  in  immediate  connection  with  the  body 
appear,  in  most  instances,  to  be  perfectly  new,  and  as 
if  made  for  the  burial ;  whilst  those  found  in  the 
material  of  the  barrows,  and  not  associated  with  an 
interment,  have,  as  a  rule,  been  evidently  in  use, 
some  of  them,  indeed,  showing  abundant  signs  of 
having  answered  their  purpose  for  a  lengthened  time." 

Subsequently,  another  portion  of  a  flint  knife,  very 
thin  and  finely  trimmed,  was  found  among  the  mate- 
rial thrown  over;  this  piece  is  nearly  one  inch  in 
length ;  as  well  as  a  small  scraper,  of  rounded  form, 
but  thin,  seven-eighths  of  an  inch  high  by  one  inch 
wide. 

At  a  distance  of  fifteen  feet  from  the  east  end  of 
the  barrow,  and  at  a  depth  of  two  feet  from  the  sur- 
face, some  large  rough  pieces  of  stone  were  met  with, 
which  we  subsequently  found  extended  from  north  to 
south  for  a  length  of  eighteen  feet,  occupying  the 
central  portion  of  the  barrow.  These  stones  formed  a 
sort  of  rough  wall  or  enclosure,  and  they  rested  upon 
large  flat  slabs  of  mountain  limestone ;    these  slabs 

^  British  Barrows,  p.  50. 


88  OPENING  OF  A  BARROW 

were  afterwards  discovered  to  extend  over  the  whole 
central  area,  the  dimensions  of  this  flooring  being  25 
north  and  south,  and  1 8  feet  east  and  west. 

The  flooring  was  found  to  rest  upon  fine  earth  of 
about  one  foot  in  thickness,  below  which  was  the 
natural  undisturbed  rock.  Above  the  large  flat  stones 
was  a  layer  of  small  rubbly  stones.  Upon  the  east, 
south,  and  west  sides  of  this  floor  was  a  sort  of  rough 
wall,  composed  of  large  slabs  and  stones  about  two 
feet  in  width,  some  set  up  on  end.  This  wall  was 
also  met  with  for  a  few  feet  at  the  north-east  comer, 
but  could  not  be  traced  further  on  the  north  side. 
It  was,  perhaps,  destroyed  when  the  first  trench  was 
cut  into  the  barrow,  or,  possibly,  may  never  have 
been  erected.  The  urns  were  mostly  found  at  a 
uniform  depth  of  two  feet  from  the  surface  of  the 
mound,  covered  over  with  loose  earth  and  clay,  over 
which  a  large  quantity  of  irregular-shaped  stones  had 
been  thrown  as  a  capping  to  the  barrow. 

It  is  a  very  rare  circumstance,  if  not  unique,  to  find 
a  barrow  paved  with  stone.  I  have  failed  to  find  a 
parallel  case,  even  amongst  the  large  number  opened 
by  Canon  Greenwell ;  it  is  also  rare  to  meet  with 
enclosing  walls  within  barrows.  Something  of  the 
nature  of  a  wall  was,  however,  found  by  Canon  Green- 
well  in  the  parish  of  Langton,^  in  the  East  Riding  of 
Yorkshire ;  and  at  Etton,^  also  in  the  East  Riding  of 
Yorkshire,  he  found  what  appeared  to  be  a  circular 
wall  of  flints  and  chalk,  irregularly  formed,  enclosing 
the  place  of  burning ;  it  was  eleven  feet  in  diameter. 
Walls  have  been  found  within  long  barrows  in  several 
places,  but  it  is  a  remarkable  circumstance  to  have 
met  with  this  one  in  a  round  barrow. 

It  should  also  be  noted  that,  in  all  cases  where  an 
enclosing  wall  has  been  met  with,  the  circle  or  enclosure 
has  been  incomplete,  and  that  was  the  case  in  the 
barrow  now  under  consideration.  It  is  quite  certain 
that   all   the    thirteen   interments   discovered  within 

^  Brilisli  Barrows,  p.  137.  ^  Ihid,,  p.  284. 


IN   THE    PARISH  OF  CJOLWINSTOX.  89 

this  enclosure  were  primary,  and  that  those  on  the 
outside  were  secondary. 

Canon  Greenwell,  on  page  8  of  British  Bar^xms, 
thinks  that  if  the  idea  of  a  fence  be  entertained,  it 
was  intended  to  prevent  the  exit  of  the  spirits  of  those 
buried  within  rather  than  to  guard  against  disturbance 
from  without. 

In  some  parts  of  the  barrow,  for  instance,  on  the 
south  side  and  north-east  side,  at  from  fifteen  to 
twenty  feet  from  the  outside,  several  black  streaks 
and  patches  mixed  with  reddened  clay  and  fragments 
of  charcoal  were  met  with,  which  gave  the  idea  that 
after  the  cremation  some  of  the  dSbris  had  been 
thrown  into  the  barrow,  together  with  the  earth,  to 
form  the  mound.  Amongst  the  stones  thrown  out 
from  among  the  material  of  the  barrow  was  one  with 
a  large  oval  hollow  in  the  centre;  it  had  been  broken 
in  two,  and  only  one  half  was  found;  it  measured  11 
inches  in  length  by  9  inches,  and  6  inches  in  thick- 
ness; the  hollow  or  cup  is  4^  inches  deep,  and  5 
inches  in  diameter.  It  looked  as  though  it  might 
have  been  part  of  a  quern  or  hand-millstone.  It  is  a 
remarkable  fact  that  no  perfect  quern  has  ever  been 
discovered  in  a  barrow.  If  this  stone  has  formed  part 
of  a  quern,  it  may  be  in  consequence  of  its  having 
been  broken,  and  therefore  of  no  further  use,  that  it 
was  thrown  into  the  barrow  to  help  to  fill  it  up. 

A  precisely  similar  one  was  discovered  by  Mr.  J.  T. 
Blight,  F.S.A.,  in  a  ring-barrow  at  Boscawen-Un,  in 
Cornwall,  and  is  figured  in  Ncenia  CornuhicB  by  Mr. 
Borlase. 

Four  other  flints  were  found  in  throwing  back  the 
earth ;  one  a  scraper,  If  inch  in  length  by  1  inch  wide; 
another  If  inch  in  length  by  1^  inch  wide;  and  two 
smaller  pieces,  all  incomplete ;  also  a  fragment  of  cherty 
flint,  1^  inch  by  Ij  inch. 

In  another  portion  of  the  barrow  an  angular  piece 
of  soft  stone,  about  6  inches  wide  by  4  inches  high, 
having  deep  marks  scored  in  it  with  some  blunt  in- 
strument, was  met  with. 


90  OPENING  OF  A  BAEROW 

Interment  No.  3  was  discovered,  at  two  feet  from 
the  surface  of  the  mound,  on  the  south  side  of  the 
walled  enclosure,  about  nine  feet  east-south-east  of 
the  centre,  and  consisted  originally  of  a  small  cinerary 
urn  of  reddish  colour,  with  the  usual  ornament  made 
by  means  of  twisted  thong;  but,  owing  to  the  roots  of 
a  tree  growing  down  into  the  interment,  the  urn  was 
much  crushed.  What  remained  of  it  showed  that  it 
had  been  inverted,  or  that  it  rested  upon  a  flat  stone. 
It  contained  calcined  bones,  which  were  examined  by 
Dr.  Garson,  who  pronounced  them  to  have  belonged 
probably  to  a  woman. 

Interment  No.  4  was  met  with  at  the  east  end  of 
the  barrow,  about  twelve  feet  north-east  of  the  centre, 
and  about  seventeen  feet  from  the  east  side;  it  was 
placed  in  a  stone  cist  which  was  built  np  against  the 
internal  wall  of  the  barrow.  It  was  composed  of  flat 
stones,  one  placed  on  the  bottom,  and  others  were  set 
up  on  end  to  form  the  sides,  top,  back,  and  front. 
The  height  of  the  interior  was  1  foot  10  inches,  depth 
1  foot  4  inches,  width  1  foot  2  inches;  there  was  no 
urn-;  the  interment  was  after  cremation,  and  the  cal- 
cined bones  which  it  contained  were  insufficient  for 
Dr.  Garson  to  form  any  opinion  upon,  further  than 
that  the  remains  were  human.  Several  pieces  of  char- 
coal were  among  the  bones,  and  the  remainder  of  the 
cist  was  filled  up  with  fine  earth.  This  was  probably 
a  secondary  interment. 

Interment  No.  5  was  found  at  about  seven  feet 
south-south-east  of  the  centre,  at  two  feet  from  the 
surface  of  the  mound.  It  was  enclosed  and  preserved 
by  means  of  a  small  cist  built  up  by  flat  stones  beinj 
placed  on  edge.  The  urn  is  9  inches  in  height  by  1- 
inches  in  diameter  at  the  mouth ;  it  is  ornamented 
with  five  encompassing  lines,  made  by  impressing  a 
piece  of  twisted  thong  on  the  clay  when  soft ;  below 
these  are  two  raised  bands  or  ridges.  It  contained 
calcined  bones,  and  was  filled  in  to  the  brim  with  fine 
sifted  earth.     The  whole  contents  were  removed,  and, 


IN  THE   PARISH  OP  COLWINSTON.  91 

at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Herbert  Prichard,  a  fire  was 
lighted  inside,  with  a  view  of  hardening  the  urn,  but 
it  was  so  firmly  wedged  in  between  the  side  stones 
that  it  was  found  to  be  impossible  to  remove  it  with- 
out first  taking  it  to  pieces.  The  bones  were  much 
comminuted,  and  Dr.  Garson  is  of  opinion  that  they 
are  those  of  a  child. 

Interment  No.  6. — ^This  was  a  secondary  interment ; 
it  was  found  on  the  south  slope  of  the  barrow,  about 
sixteen  feet  south-west  of  the  centre,  and  at  five  feet 
from  the  enclosing  wall ;  it  consisted  of  a  small  hole 
sunk  only  one  foot  from  the  surface  of  the  mound,  the 
sides  of  which  had  been  lined  with  clay  and  then 
hardened  by  making  a  fire  in  it,  the  clay  being 
reddened  to  a  thickness  of  two  inches ;  it  contained 
calcined  bones,  two  pieces  of  bronze  and  fragments  of 
bronze,  one  of  which  might  have  belonged  to  a  knife, 
the  other  to  a  pricker  or  awL  As  to  bronze  awls  or 
prickers.  Canon  Greenwell  says  it  must  not  be  sup- 
posed, because  in  some  barrows  no  other  implement's 
than  those  of  stone  have  been  found,  that  such 
barrows  belong  to  a  time  before  the  introduction  of 
bronze,  for  its  absence  by  no  means  proves  that  it  was 
unknown.^  There  were  likewise  three  curious  pieces 
of  bone  with  holes  bored  through  them,  which  may 
have  served  as  beads.  The  bones  were  submitted  to 
Dr.  Garson,  who,  from  their  fragmentary  character, 
could  not  say  to  which  sex  they  belonged,  but  con- 
sidered them  to  be  of  an  adult.  The  entrance  to  this 
interment  on  the  southern  slope  was  protected  by 
some  stones  being  placed  against  it. 

Interment  No.  7  was  on  the  south  side  of  the 
barrow,  at  one  foot  beneath  the  surface  of  the  mound, 
a  few  feet  eastwards  of  No.  6  ;  the  urn  was  nearly 
destroyed,  presumably  from  being  so  near  the  surface. 
Only  a  few  fragments  w^ere  met  with.  It  had  con- 
tained calcined  bones,  and  the  earth  surrounding  it 
was  much  reddened  by  fire,  and  pieces  of  charcoal  and 

^  British  Barrows,  p.  46. 


92  '  OPENING  OF  A  BARROW 

ashes  were  plentiful.  The  interment  had  been  pro- 
tected by  being  placed  upon  a  flat  stone,  with  one  laid 
upon  the  top,  and  others  placed  against  the  raouth  of 
the  hollow  which  had  been  made  on  the  south  side. 

Interment  No.  8  was  upon  the  south-west  side  of 
the  barrow,  about  five  feet  from  thB  enclosing  wall, 
and  eighteen  feet  from  the  centre.  Like  No.  6  it 
consisted  of  a  large  pocket  made  of  clay,  and  hardened 
by  means  of  fire,  as  the  clay  and  surroundings  were 
red  and  black  to  a  depth  of  three  inches.  At  the 
bottom  were  a  quantity  of  calcined  bones,  too  frag- 
mentary to  be  identified.  The  tnoath  xsr  opemng 
made  to  this  interment  was  on  the  western  slope  pro- 
tected, like  the  others,  with  stones  placed  against  it. 

Interment  No.  9  was  on  the  southern  side,  about 
eighteen  feet  from  the  centre,  and  at  two  feet  from 
the  surface  of  the  mound;  it  was  placed,  like  the 
former,  in  a  hole  lined  with  clay.  In  it  were  a  quan- 
tity of  calcined  human  bones  and  much  charcoal ;  a 
flat  piece  of  stone  was  placed  on  the  top,  and  the 
entrance  of  the  hollow  on  the  south  was  protected  by 
another  large  stone. 

Having  completed  this  brief  account  of  the  various 
interments  discovered  in  this  barrow,  it  only  remains 
for  me  to  add  a  few  remarks. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  barrow  was  a  remarkable 
one,  containing  no  less  than  thirteen  primary  inter- 
ments after  cremation,  that  is  to  say,  there  were  thir- 
teen urns  placed  upon  the  platform  of  stones  before 
the  earth  was  thrown  up  over  it.  Subsequently  five 
secondary  interments  were  made  in  the  east,  west, 
and  south  sides  of  the  barrow  respectively,  I  fail  to 
discover  another  instance  of  so  mapy  interments  after 
cremation,  of  this  early  period,  being  recorded  from 
either  England  or  Wales. 

There  is  a  tradition  that  a  battle  was  fought  on  the 
"  Golden  Mile'V  between  the  Irish  or  Saxons  and  the 

^  The  tradition  made  to  fit  the  name  of  the  now  enclosed  common 
called  the  '*  Golden  Mile*'  was  that  Jestjn  ap  Gwrgant,  last  native 


IN   THE   PARISH  OF  COLWINSTON.  93 

Welsh,  in  the  seventh  century,  under  a  prince  of  the 
na^me  of  Meyric,  and  that  the  slain  were  buried  in  this 
mound. 

It  may  be  argued  that  we  cannot  compare  the  age 
of  the  Welsh  barrows  with  those  of  England,  as  the 
inhabitants  of  Wales  may  have  practised  their  ancient 
rites  and  customs,  perhaps,  for  long  after  they  were 
abandoned  in  England;  but,  even  if  that  were  the 
case,  it  would  not  account  for  those  interments  belong- 
ing to  the  date  of  the  tradition,  as  at  that  time  the 
Welsh  had  been  subjected  to  the  advantage  of  Roman 
civilisation,  and  had  used  the  Latin  tongue  for  monu- 
mental inscriptions,  etc.,  for  several  centuries  before 
the  time  of  those  seventh-century  people.  It  is  quite 
certain  that,  from  the  nature  of  the  urns,  and  other 
circumstances  connected  with  the  primarj^  interments 
in  this  barrow,  it  is  before  the  time  of  the  use  of  iron, 
and  that  the  secondary  interments  also  were  probably 
of  the  bronze  period. 

chief,  and  seven teenth  in  descent  from  Meuric  ap  lewdric,  paid 
Iribnte  in  gold  to  the  Normans  at  that  place.  Another  story,  which 
may  be  more  probable,  is  that  it  was  so  called  from  the  fact  of  the 
common  being  covered  with  gorse. 


94 


DENBIGH    CASTLE. 

BT  MAJOR  LLOTD  WILLIAMS. 

{Read  at  Denbigh^  August  1887.) 

The  grand  old  ruin  of  Denbigh  Castle  holds  a  very 
interesting  position  in  relation  to  the  other  castel- 
lated remains  in  the  Principality.  Erected  at  a  period 
anterior  to  the  type  of  castles  known  as  Edwardian, 
to  which  it  has,  however,  many  points  of  resemblance, 
it  yet  indicates  an  older  design,  having  much  in 
common  with  works  of  an  earlier  date. 

The  plan  is  essentially  that  of  a  Norman  fortress, 
extended  and  strengthened,  and  having  its  arrange- 
ments dictated  by  the  form  of  the  ground,  and  also 
most  probably  by  the  outline  of  a  hill-fort  of  a  primi- 
tive design,  which,  we  may  reasonably  conclude,  once 
occupied  the  site.  The  existence  of  a  fortress  of 
twelfth-century  date  can  only  be  suggested  by  analogy 
with  other  buildings  of  that  period.  While  the  plan 
so  closely  resembles  a  castle  of  Norman  times,  an 
examination  of  the  present  structure  indicates  that 
the  entire  mass  of  the  walling  is  of  later  date.  The 
earlier  structure  may  therefore  safely  be  concluded  to 
have  been  of  palisading  and  deep  earthworks,  a 
deepening  of  the  more  ancient  trenches,  and  the  modi- 
fication of  their  plan.  By  the  supposition  that  the 
defences  were  of  timber,  and  not  of  stone,  we  may 
reasonably  account  for  the  disappearance  of  walls  of 
Norman  date,  a  difficult  task  if  we  have  to  suppose 
that  they  had  ever  existed.  Looking  at  the  ruins  as 
they  now  stand,  we  find  ourselves  in  presence  of  the 
work  of  one  period.  As  the  building  was  erected  by 
Henry  Lacy,  so  is  it  now  in  all  its  general  features. 
We  can  trace  almost  every  portion  of  the  original 


DENBIGH  CASTLE.  95 

design,  so  far  as  regards  the  ground-plan,  and  we 
have  the  singular  evidence  of  an  early  plan  worked 
out  in  late  thirteenth  century  stonework. 

The  castle  is  essentially  English  in  its  design,  not 
of  the  advanced  Edwardian  type,  in  which  was  intro- 
duced many  new  elements  derived  from  French  works 
of  military  fortification — regularity  of  plan,  prominent 
maxshicolations,  and  such  like ;  but  an  earlier  type  of 
work,  evidently  accommodated  to  the  then  existing 
state  of  things.  It  is  this  feature  which  adds  materi- 
ally to  the  interest  of  the  study  of  the  ground-plan  of 
Denbigh  Castle,  and  its  consideration  enables  us  to 
understand  the  reason  of  its  difference  from  the  castles 
at  Conway,  Beaumaris,  Carnarvon,  Harlech,  etc.,  all  of 
which  are  essentially  of  Edwardian  type,  very  different 
in  arrangement  from  Denbigh  Castle,  but  yet  suffici- 
ently near  in  date  of  erection  to  enable  us  to  refer  to 
them  for  comparison. 

The  resemblance  of  Denbigh  to  an  English  castle  is, 
in  its  general  lines,  complete.  This  may  be  shown  by 
a  comparison,  say,  with  Tonbridge  Castle,  than  which 
a  more  essentially  English  castle  cannot  be  found, 
although  there  is  one  feature,  and  one  only,  which 
does  not  appear  at  Denbigh.  Tonbridge  is  of  early 
date ;  strong  walls  enclosed  an  inner  ballium ;  an 
extension  of  these,  as  at  Denbigh,  enclosed  the  town, 
which  is,  in  both  places  alike,  built  within  the  outer 
ballium.  At  a  period' subsequent  to  the  foundation,  a 
huge  gateway-tower,  not  unlike  that  at  Denbigh,  was 
erected  at  the  entrance,  approached  by  a  drawbridge 
from  within  the  town,  and  in  this  were  the  best 
apartments.  The  steep  hill  of  Denbigh,  which  adds 
so  materially  to  the  defences,  is  represented  at  Ton- 
bridge  by  the  River  Medway,  and  the  deep  dry 
ditches  of  the  one  are,  or  were,  channels  of  water  in 
the  other.  Apart  from  details,  the  only  real  feature 
which  appears  at  Tonbridge,  but  not  at  Denbigh,  is 
the  existence  of  the  circular  keep  on  a  lofty  mound, 
the  latter  being  the   work  of  an  early  period.     Its 


96  DENBIGH  CASTLE. 

existence  in  Norman  tiraes  led  to  the  erection  of  the 
stone  keep  upon  it,  in  place  of  the  palisading  which 
doubtless  once  existed. 

At  Denbigh  the  details  of  the  work  indicate  many 
points  of  resemblance  with  the  other  Edwardian  castles. 
The  towers  agree  in  shape  and  plan  with  the  latter ; 
the  arrangements  of  each  tower  in  a  series  of  well- 
planned  living-rooms  are  alike ;  while  the  peculiar 
design  of  a  circular  tower  springing  from  a  square 
base,  with  high-pointed  stops,  are  similar  in  both. 
Of  this  arrangement  the  Burgess  Gate  affords,  perhaps, 
the  most  pronounced  example  in  the  Principality. 

The  work  at  Denbigh  calls  for  special  admiration  by 
reason  of  the  very  great  excellence  of  the  masonry ; 
the  stones  are  admirably  cut  and  worked,  while  all 
the  details  of  execution  and  laying  are  capital. 

The  castle  proper  being  planned  like  an  ordinary 
Norman  shell-keep,  we  should  look  for  a  detached 
chapel  for  the  garrison  in  the  centre  of  the  ballium, 
where  it  is  described  in  the  Survey,  temp.  Elizabeth; 
and,  in  fact,  it  is  to  be  traced  on  Speed's  Map.  There 
would  be  another  chapel,  doubtless  on  the  first  floor  in 
one  of  the  towers;  but  the  place  named  as  the  "Chapel" 
was  far  more  probably  a  domestic  hall. 

The  Chapel  of  St.  Hilary,  in  the  town,  was  for  the 
service  of  the  towns-folk.  In  its  dedication  we  may 
tra<;e  evidence  of  its  existence  in  times  prior  to  the 
erection  of  the  present  castle,  for  it  is  hardly  likely 
that  such  a  dedication  would  have  been  adopted  had 
the  building  been  called  into  being  only  in  Norman 
times ;  still  less  so  if  only  in  the  thirteenth  century. 
We  may  leather  infer,  therefore,  that  the  chapel  was  in 
existence  at  a  far  earlier  time,  and  that  its  dedication 
was  retained  when  the  building  became  the  chapel  of 
the  English  community  forming  the  town.  The  dedi- 
cation of  a  church  was  very  seldom  changed,  and  its 
consideration  will  often  afford  us  interesting  subject 
for  inquiry. 

The  planning  of  the  town  walls  was  evidently  carried 


DENBIGH  CASTLE.  97 

out  by  the  same  architect  who  erected  the  castle,  and 
they  are  so  arranged  as  to  form  an  essential  portion  of 
the  latter.  The  similarity  of  design  and  workman- 
ship, minor  differences  being  overlooked,  is  suflScient 
to  Justify  this  statement.  Two  of  the  principal  fea- 
tures are  the  Goblin  Tower  and  the  Burgess  Gateway. 
The  former  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  works  of  the 
kind  in  our  country,  and  its  skilful  plan,  to  include 
the  outlying  spring  outside  the  line  of  the  town  wails, 
is  not  a  little  remarkable.  Speed's  Map  shows  it 
apparently  higher  than  at  present,  and  the  same  remark 
will  apply  to  the  view  of  Denbigh  Castle  which  appears 
in  the  series  by  the  Brothers  Buck.  The  Burgess 
Gateway  is  a  fine  example  of  a  fortified  entrance  to  a 
town,  and  its  arrangements  being  so  readily  traced, 
render  its  study  of  additional  interest.  Its  large 
upper  chamber  has  doubtless  served  as  the  meeting- 
place  of  the  burgesses,  as  in  like  manner  the  othir 
authority,  that  of  the  lords  of  the  castle,  had  its  seat 
in  the  Exchequer  Tower.  The  former  appears  to 
have  been  provided  with  its  prison,  which,  in  fact,  is 
mentioned  in  the  charter  of  Henry  de  Lacy. 

Reference  on  a  map  to  the  topographical  positions 
of  the  towns  and  places  claimed  as  of  right  by  Ed- 
ward I  will  indicate  how  steadily  the  conquest  of 
North  Wales  was  pursued  by  the  English,  the  base  of 
operations  virtually  being  Chester. 

The  plan  so  usual  in  the  fourteenth  century,  of 
giving  a  separate  name  to  each  tower  of  the  castle,  is 
well  illustrated  by  the  survival  of  the  names  of  the 
towers  at  Denbigh,  although  they  are  less  musical  to 
the  ear  than  is  frequently  the  case  in  other  fortresses. 

The  above  most  excellent  description  is  contributed 
by  Mr.  E.  P.  Loftus  Brock,  F.S.A.,  a  gentleman  who 
has  devoted  much  time  and  thought  to  archaeology, 
particularly  to  that  branch  of  it  which  applies  to  archi- 
tecture, and  has  earned  for  himself  a  high  reputation 
for  the  masterly  manner  in  which  he  reasons  out  his 
views,  and  is  now  looked  up  to  as  an  authority  in 


98  DENBIGH  CASTLE. 

matters  of  old  castles,  fortresses,  etc.  I  am  happy  to 
know  that  he  agrees  with  me  in  thinking  that  the 
portion  of  the  ruin  on  the  south-east  side,  frequently 
called  "The  Chapel",  was  much  more  probably  used 
as  "The  Banqueting  Hall",  particularly  as  he  sees 
indications  of  another  portion  of  the  castle  being  used 
for  the  purpose  of  a  garrison  chapel  independent  of  St. 
Hilary's. 

It  is  difficult  always  to  assign  the  exact  use  to 
which  the  different  tx)wers  were  put,  as  it  would  vary 
according  to  requirements.  Those  in  possession  at 
the  particular  time  might  require  them  for  defence, 
and  at  other  times  they  would  be  utilised  as  the 
official  in  charge  might  think  fit.  In  times  of  war 
each  tower  would  be  seized  and  defended  bv  the 
various  tenants  of  the  lord  holding  their  lands  from 
him,  on  the  old  tenure,  either  by  knightly  service  or 
castle  guard.     This  was  the  usual  custom. 

The  rooms  in  the  different  towers  in  this  castle  are 
somewhat  more  luxurious  than  others  in  the  Princi- 
pality, as  every  room  has  its  fireplace,  and  every 
tower  its  separate  entrance. 


SURVEY  MADE  IN   THE    REIGN   OF  HENRY   VUI. 

"  The  said  Castle  is  built  high  upon  a  rock  of  stone,  very 
stately  and  beautifully,  in  a  very  sweet  air,  seven  miles  from  the 
sea ;  and  near  to  the  same  Castle  are  a  few  houses  and  a  fair 
chapel,  called  the  Borough  of  Denbigh. 

'*  The  same  Borough  and  Castle  being  walled  about  with  a 
strong  wall  standing  high,  but  in  a  few  places  able  to  be  come 
unto,  by  reason  of  the  highness  of  the  rock  whereupon  the  said 
wall  standeth.  The  same  wall  having  two  gates  with  portcullis ; 
whereof  the  one  is  north  from  the  said  Castle,  and  goeth  down 
into  the  Town  of  Denbigh,  called  the  Suburbs  of  Denbigh  ;  and 
the  other  Gate  is  northwest  from  the  Gate  of  the  Castle,  and  is 
a  fair  lodging.  Every  of  the  said  Gates  two  stories  high.  And 
from  the  West  Gate,  straight  south,  the  wall  is  near  the  Castle, 
set  for  strength,  and  an  outer  fortress  there  to  the  Castle.  And 
south  of  the  said the  wall  is  also  near  to  the  Castle,  and 


DENBIGH  CASTLE.  99 

two  turrets  in  the  same  for  the  defence  of  the  said  wall.  And 
a  little  from  it  is  a  gate  of  the  Castle,  which  goeth  into  a  park 
adjoining  to  the  same  Castle,  the  same  gate  being  three  stories 
high ;  and  before,  without  the  door  thereof,  a  strong  bulwark  of 
stone,  as  well  to  hide  the  gate  as  to  strengthen  the  same. 

"  And  from  that  gate  in  the  wall  is  a  round  tower  of  two 
stories  high,  metely  well  repaired.  And  a  little  from  that  two 
other  ...  turrets.  And  next  to  the  same  a  very  strong  tower, 
being  built  side  the  square,  three  stories  high,  called  the  Goblin 
Hole  ;  and  in  the  same  a  deep  well.  And  north  east  from  that 
standeth  another  square  tower  called  the  Countess  Tower,  which 
is  a  fair  lodging.  And  northwest  from  that  another  round 
tower.  And  plain  westward  from  that  the  wall  extendeth  to  the 
North-Gate  of  the  wall  aforesaid. 

"All  the  said  towers  in  the  wall  being  decayed  in  the  timber- 
work,  except  the  two  gates  smd  one  round  tower. 

"And  the  way  going  forth  of  the  said  North  Gate  lieth  in  the 
suburbs  of  Denbigh,  wherein  the  great  number  of  the  Burgesses 
and  inhabitants  of  the  said  town  doth  inhabit,  the  same  being 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  long.  And  in  the  High  Street  there  is 
a  fair  room,  wherein  the  Market  is  kept  every  Wednesday, 
being  well  served  with  grain  and  victual,  fish  and  wildfowl,  the 
same  being  the  shire  town  of  Denbighshire. 

"And  south-east  from  the  Castle,  adjoining  upon  the  wall, 
lieth  the  said  park,  called  the  Castle  Park,  which  is  a  ground 
very  fertile  and  pleasant,  wherein  the  deer  cannot  stray  (being 
limited)  out  of  the  coverts,  but  are  in  divers  places  within  the 
view  of  the  said  Castle;  the  park  being  two  miles  about  at  least, 
and  hath  not  above  fourteen  male  deer  and  thirty  does  and 
fawns ;  the  same  being  able  to  bear  four  hundred  deer.  The 
keeping  thereof  is  granted  by  the  King's  Majesty  to  one  Piers 
Morton;  his  Grace's  servant  for  the  term  of  twenty  years. 

"  The  said  Castle  hath  two  gates,  whereof  the  one  is  before 
mentioned ;  and  the  other  is  the  common  gate,  being  in  the 
north  side  of  the  same  Castle, — a  fair  strong  gate  with  a  port- 
cullis, three  stories  high ;  the  comers  of  the  same  made  with 
quoin-stones,  and  the  wall  is  a  fair  rough  wall.  At  the  said 
north  gate  is  a  draught-bridge,  and  at  the  other  gate  before 
mentioned  two  other  draught-bridges. 

"  The  said  Castle  is  six  square,  and  hath  at  every  square  a 
strong  tower ;  whereof  two  of  them  are  three  stories  high,  and 
the  others  . . .  stories  high.  And  upon  the  west  part  of  the  said 
Castle  towers  of  two  stories  high.  All  the  said  towers  and  wall 
of  the  Cattle  being  embattled  upon,  and  every  tower  and  lodg- 
ing therein  very  sweet  and  of  good  air. 

5th  sir.,  vol.  t.  8 


100  ]:>EHBIGH  CASTLE. 

"And  within  the  Castle  a  building  of  stone,  two  great  stately 
chambers  called  the  Green  Chambers,  and  under  the  same  fait 
cellars  vaulted ;  and  at  the  south  corner  thereof  is  a  fair  tower, 
which  is  on  the  way  lying  to  the  South  Gate.  And  at  the  north 
end  of  the  said  Green  Chamber  was  a  Hall,  the  roof  and  the 
floor  thereof  being  fully  decayed.  And  plain  north  from  that  a 
great  strong  tower,  seven  square,  adjoining  the  great  Common 
Gate.  And  within  the  said  Castle  a  fair  large  Green,  wherein 
standeth  a  chapel  to  serve  the  Castle. 

"  The  great  Common  Gate  is  to  be  repaired  with  little  charge. 
The  Green  Chambers  and  a  strong  tower  wherein  the  King's 
Grace's  Becords  doth  temain,  are  all  well  repaired.  All  the 
rest  are  much  in  decay  in  the  timber-work,  and'  most  in  the 
lead. 

"  North  from  the  said  Castle,  within  one  mile  of  the  same,  are 
two  fair  parks,  paled  round,  replenished  with  fallow  deer ;  the 
one  called  Garthsnodeoch  (Gfarthysnodiog,  now  the  Crest),  being 
two  miles  about,  in  the  keeping  of  John  Salisbury  the  elder. 
Esquire,  Chamberlain  of  Denbigh,  wherein  are  three  hundred 
deer ;  whereof  fifty  are  deer  antler,  and  the  rest  rastall ;  the 
which  is  not  able  of  itself  to  feed  the  same  deer  without  good 
provision  of  hay  for  the  same  deer  in  the  time  of  winter.  The 
other  park  is  called  Mollewike,  the  herbage  whereof,  with  the 
keeping  of  th6  same,  is  granted  by  the  King's  Majesty  to  one 
Nicholas  Fortescue,  Esquire,  for  the  term  of  his  life,  and  the 
fee  of  £4 :  11 : 0  by  the  year ;  the  same  park  being  three  miles 
about,  replenished  with  six  score  fallow  deer,  whereof  fifty  are 
deer  antler,  and  the  rest  are  rastall ;  the  herbage  thereof  being 
worth  yearly  to  let/'^ 

^  For  survey  made  4th  Elizabeth,  a.d.  1562,  see  5th  Series,  vol. 
iv  (1887),  p.  338. 


101 


NOTES   FKOM   THE   REGISTERS  OF 

ERBISTOCK, 

DENBIGH  4ND  FLINTSHIRE. 
BY    ALFRED    NEOBABD     PALMER,    ESQ. 

The  list  of  baptisms  in  the  oldest  Register  of  Erbistock 
now  existing  is  preceded  bj  the  following  heading : 

** Nomina  eorum  BaptizaV  fuerunt  in  diet*  parochid  Anno  Trige- 
simo  primo  Begni  Oaroli  sec'di  dei  grot  AnjgV  Scot  ffranc*  et 
Hibem*  fidei  defens*  et  Anno  primo  hujua  JRegisterii,  Anno 
Dom*  1679,  JoVes  Robinson  existen*  Rector  diet'  ecdesice  et 
Humph'  Powell  Curat  ibidem. 

"  Eezia  Manley^  fil*  Cornelii  Manley  Gen'i  xxiii  die  flfebruarii 

Humphredus  fil'  Edwardi  Morris*  quinto  die  ffeb*  [168^] 
ffronciscus  Manley  filius  Cornelii  Manley  Gener'  et  Elizabeth® 

uxor*  ejus  Baptizatus  fuit  primo  die  Octobris  [1681] 
Robertus  filius  Edwardi  Morris  et  Manse  [Marthse  ?]  uxoris  l?** 

die  flfeb'  168^ 
Cornelius  filius  Comelij  Manley  and  Elizabeth  his  wife,  was 

baptized  IS**  die  Januarij  [1682  or  1683] 
Thomas  filius  Cornelii  Manley  et  Elizabethae  uxoris  ejus  Bapti- 

zat'  fuit  nono  die  Septembris  An'  Dom'  1684 
Anna  fil'  Comelij  Manley  nat*  8  OctoV  bapt'  17  Octob'  '85 
Mary  Manley  fil*  Cornelius  Manley  Esq.  Nat*  15  Decembris  1686 

Bapt'  10  die  Jan» 
Edward  y^  son  of  Edward  Morris  &  Martha  his  wife  was  born 

y  22  of  September  1687 
Mariana  y®  daughter  of  Boger  Hanmer^  &  Sarah  his  wife  was 

borne  y«  16  of  Aprill  &  Bapt*  y«  11th  of  May  1688 

^  The  Manley 8  mentioned  in  this  Register  are  the  Manleys  of 
Manley  Hall,  Erbistock. 

'  Edward  Manrioe,  gentleman,  of  Hafod  Gynfor  and  Cae  Mor,  son 
of  Manrioe  ab  Edward  ab  Maurice  of  Cae  Mor,  married  (see  among 
entries  of  marriages)  Martha,  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Jones  of  Pare 
Eyton,  in  the  parish  of  Erbistock,  otherwise  called  John  ab  John 
ab  David.  Mr.  Maurice  appears  himself  to  have  afterwards  lived 
at  Pare  Eyton. 

*  Roger  Hanmer,  gentleman,  of  Overton  Madoc.     See  among 

entries  of  marriages. 

82 


102  NOTES   FROM  THE  REGISTERS 

Margaret  y*  daughter  of  Edward  Maurice  &  Martha  his  wife 

was  boru  y«  17th  day  of  April  &  Bapt'  y*  2l8t  of  y*  same 

month  1690 
John  y*  son  of  Roger  Hanmer  &  Sarah  his  wife  was  Bom  y* 

5th  Day  of  August  &  Bapt'  y«  22  of  y«  sam  1690 
Elizabeth  y^  daughter  of  Edward  Maurice  &  Martha  his  wife 

was  bom  y*  10th  day  of  Feb'  &  Bapt'  y*  1st  day  of  March 

1694 
Mary  y*  dau'  of  Wm.  Nanney  Curat  of  Erbistoclc  and  Mary  his 

wife  was  born  y*  6th  day  of  June  &  Bapt'  y*  12th  of  y* 

same  1695 
Eobert  y*  son  of  Mr.  Eobert  Mathews^  and  Prudence  his  wife 

was  bom  28  of  9ber  &  xtened  y*  2nd  day  of  9ber  in  y* 

year  1696 
Anna  fil'  Robt.  Matthews  &  ux'  Pmdentiae  Bapt'  25®  Maij  Anno 

Uom'  1698 
Martha  fil'  Edd.  Morris  et  ux'  Marthas  Bap'  fuit  2®  die  Junij 

Anno  Dom'  1699 
Mauritius  fiP  Robt.  Matthews  &  ux'  Pmdentiae  Bap'  fuit  quarto 

die  mensis  Novembris  Anno  Dom'  1699 
Maria  fil'  Robt  Matthews  &  ux'  Prudentiae  Bapt'  30  die  Junii 

A.b.  1701 
Joh'es  fir  Robt.  Matthews  &  ux'  Pmdentiae  Bapt'  25®  die  Julij 

A.D.1709 
Tho.  fir  David  Yale*  &  uxor'  Margarettae  Bapt'  5®  die  Augusti 

1709 
Margt.  Daughter  of  Mr.  Alan  Pidgeon  [of  Pare  Eyton]  May  9 

1729 
James  son  of  Mr.  Alan  Pidgeon  Feb.  20  1730." 

BURIALS. 

The  entries  of  burials  are  preceded  by  the  following 
heading : 

"Notum  vobis  me  Humphredu*  Powell  Registerium  metim  scrip- 
sisse  de  nominilms  eorum  qui  in  Ecclesia  Erbistock  aqpvlti 
fuerunt  Anno  DonC  1679. 

"  S'pu'  Sarah  fil'  S'  John  Wynne  ij«  Novembris  1680 

Manley  ffacknald  gener'  sepultus  fuit  vicessimo  sexto  Maij  1686 

^  Robert  Matthews,  gentleman,  son  of  the  B>ev.  Maurice  Matthews, 
Eector  of  Erbistock,  by  Catherine,  daughter  of  John  Powell,  Esq., 
of  Bodylltyn. 

^  David  Yale,  gentleman,  of  Plas  yn  lal.  He  married  (see  entries 
of  marriages)  Margaret,  daughter  of  Mr.  Edward  Maurice.  See 
note  2,  p.  101. 


OF  ERBISTOCE.  103 

Cornelius  Manley  fil'  Com.  Manley  sepult'  f uit  quinto  die  Octob' 
1686 

Edward  Morris  was  buried  y*  fourth  day  of  Aprill  1688 

Mr.  Richard  Eyton  was  buried  y*  13th  day  of  Aprill  1696 

David  Price  of  Pen  y  Ian  2®  die  Aprilis  1701 

Sara  Wynn  sep'  fuit  9  die  Aug"  1701 

GrifBnus  Vaughan  Cler'  hujus  Eccles'  Curat*  obiit  8  die  Feb' 
sepultus  fuit  11  die  FeV  171 J 

Maria  Moris  (see  note  2,  p.  101)  sep'  fuit  IH^  die  Aug*  1711 

Mr.  Robert  Matthews  (see  note  1,  p.  102)  March  10  1714 

Mrs.  Catharine  Salusburyi  Apl  28  1715 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Manley  May  18  1715 

Mr.  Manley  Feb.  24  1722 

Mrs.  Mary  Manley  Aug'  14  1724 

Anne  Matthews  Feb'  15  172^ 

Mrs.  Anne  Pigeon  of  Eyton  Park  June  12  1731 

Mrs.  Susan  Manley  Dec.  23  1734 

James  son  of  Mr.  Allan  Pidgeon  Aug.  17  1734 

Mr.  Thomas  Salusbury  Sept.  1  1734 

Mr.  Thomas  Manley  May  11  1736 

Mrs.  Prudence  Matthews  June  21  1751  [wife  of  Mr.  Robt.  Mat- 
thews, see  note  I,  p.  102] 

Catherine  Salusbury  March  9  1757 

Mary  Salusbury  Nov.  23  1759," 

MARRIAGES. 

The  notices  of  marriages  occur  under  the  following 
heading : 

**Nomina  eorum  qui  conjugantur  node  matrimonii  Anno  Domini 
1679. 

Edward  Morris  de  Glyn  Ceiriog  (see  note  2,  p.  101)  parochi^ 
Llangollen  &  Martha  Jones  hujus  parochise  nodo  matrimo- 
nii conjuncti  fuerunt  sec'do  die  Januarij  Anno  Dom*  1682 

William  Nanney  Curat  of  Erbistock  &  Mary  Brown  widow  of 
Bangor  parish  were  married  y*  5th  day  of  November  1689 

John  Lloyd  of  Place  Enion  in  the  parish  of  Llanvaire  and  Sarah 
HiU^  of  this  parish  were  married  y®  18th  day  of  June  1695 

^  These  Salnsbnrys  were  of  Erbistock  Hall,  among  whom  was  the 
well-known  Mr.  Thomas  SsJusbary  the  genealogist.  An  important 
inscription  (never  yet  published)  relating  to  the  Salasburys  of 
Erbistock  will  be  given  in  our  next  issue. 

'  Sarah  Hill  was  the  only  daughter  of  Thomas  Hill,  Esq.,  of 
Sonlton,  Shropshire,  by  Sarah,  his  wife,  daughter  of  Thomas  Evans, 
Esq.,  of  Bhaabon. 


104  NOTES  FROM  THB  RE6ISTEBS,  ETC. 

Thomas  Hanmer  of  Maesgwaelod  et  parochise  Overton  Maddock 
comit*  fflint  &  Jane  Wynne^  conjuncti  fuerunt  matrimonio 
27  7bris  Anno  Dom'  1700 

Bandulphus  Jones^  de  parochi&  de  Huabon  gent*^  &  Elizabeth 
Wynn  de  Erbistock  conjuncti  fuerunt  in  mat*  21  die  7bris 
1703 

Jo'es  Hughes' de  Acton'  gen'  &  Catherine  Wynne  de  Park  Eyton 
conjuncti  fuer'  in  matrimonio  10  die  Junii  Anno  Dom'  1704 

Sichardus  Jones  de  Berllan  deg  gen'  &  Maria  Wynne*  de  Park 
Eyton  conjuncti  fuerunt  in  matrimonio  secundo  9bris  1706 

David  Yale^  gen'  &  Margaretta  Morris  conjuncti  fuerunt  matri- 
monio 220  die  8bris  1708 

Jenkin  Iloyd  of  Clochfaen  gent'  &  Elizabeth  Lloyd  of  Plas  Mad- 
dock  April  20  1713." 

Only  the  following  entries,  taken  at  random,  were 
copied  from  the  second  volume  : 

"  David  son  of  David  Pennant  and  Louisa  his  wife  bom  Jan'  22 

bapt'  Feb.  23  1795 
Robert  WilUams®  Esq.  [buried]  May  26, 1763 
Hanaretta  Salsbury  [buried]  July  2  1774 
Mrs.  Catherine  Salusbury  [buried]  M'ch  19, 1778." 

^  This  Jane  Wynn  was  an  illegitimaie  daughter  of  Sir  John  Wynn 
by  Elizabeth  Partin  of  the  Gefeilian. 

^  Randal  Jones  of  Pen  y  Bryn,  in  the  parish  of  Bhnabon.  Eliza- 
beth Wynn,  his  first  wife,  was  another  illegitimate  daughter  of  Sir 
John  Wynn  by  Elizabeth  Partin. 

^  Mr.  John  Hughes  lived  at  Heol  Pwll  y  Kiln,  in  the  township 
of  Acton,  and  the  parish  of  Wrexham.  Hia  wife  was  probably  one 
of  the  Wynnes  of  Abercynlleth.     See  next  note. 

^  I  conjecture  the  wives  of  Mr.  John  Hughes  and  of  Mr.  Bichard 
Jones  to  have  been  of  the  family  of  Wynne  of  Abercynlleth,  John 
Wynne  of  Abercynlleth  having  married  Eliiabeth,  daughter  of 
Edward  Maurice  of  Pare  Eyton.     See  note  2,  p.  101 . 

'  David  Tale  of  Plas  yn  lal,  gent.  Margaretta,  his  wife,  was  a 
daughter  of  Edward  Maurioe.     See  note  2,  p.  102. 

'  Robert  Williams,  Esq.,  of  Erbistock  Hall,  second  son  of  the 
seoond  Sir  William  Williams,  and  brother  of  the  first  Sir  Watkin 
Williams- Wynn  of  Wynnstay. 


105 


LLYFR    SILIN. 

YN  CYNNWYS  ACHAU  AMRYW  DEULUOEDD 
YN  NGWYNEDD,  POWYS,  ETC. 

(Continued  from  p.  66.^ 


RHIWLAS :  Y  PLAS  UWCH  Y  FQEL. 

John  Lloyd  ap  Thomas  Lloyd  ap  Moris  Lloyd  ap 
Thomas  Lloyd  ap  Llew.  ap  Sion  ap  Meredydd  ap 
leuan  Gethin  o  Gynlleth  ap  Gruffjrdd  Gethia  ap  leuan 
ap  Dafydd  ap  Gwyn  ap  Dafyda  Sant  ap  leuan  ap 
Howel  goch  o  Foelfre  ap  Dafydd  ap  Einion  ap  Cad- 
waladr  ap  Rind  lap  Bleddyn  ap  Cynfyn  (?  Eirid  ap 
Riwallon  ap  Cynfyn). 

Mam  John    Lloyd  oedd  Kattrin  (sister  of  Robert 

Lloyd)  verch  Edward  Lloyd  o'r  Plas  is  Klawdd. 

Mam  Thomas  Lloyd  oedd  Margret  verch   Richard 

Lloyd  o  Llwyn  y  Maen  ap  Edward  Lloyd  ap  Richard 

Lloyd. 

Mam  Thomas  Lloyd  ap  Llewelyn  oedd  Margred  verch 
John  Lakyn  ap  Thomas  Lakyn  ap  Sir  Richard 
Lakyn  ap   Sir  William   Lakyn  p   Wyle    yn 
Swydd  y  Mwythig. 
Gwraig  Thomas  Lloyd  ap  Llew.  oedd  Eattrin  verch 
Robert  ap  Moris  ap  leuan  ap  Howel  o  Llan- 
gedwyn  o  gariadferch. 
Mam  Llew.  ap   Sion  oedd  Kattrin  verch  Rys   ap 
Gutyn  ap  Gruffydd  ap  leuan  Gethin  ap  Madoc 
Kyffin. 
Mam  Sion  ap  Meredydd  oedd  Elen  verch   Dai  ap 

Madoc  Llwyd  o  Fochnant. 
Mam  Meredydd  ap  leva  oedd  Fali  verch  Adda  ap 
Dafydd  ap  Howel  ap  leva  ap  Adda  ap  Awr  ap 
leva  ap  Oyhelyn  ap  Tudr  ap  Rys  Sais. 


106  LLYFR  SILIN. 


LLANNERCH  EMRYS. 

Koger  Gruffydd  ap  Humphre  Gruflfydd,  mab  Mr. 
[Griffith]  Griffithes  Person  Pencraig  ap  Llew.  ap  Gruff- 
ydd ap  leuan  fain  ap  Dafydd  Uoyd  ap  Dafydd  Welw 
ap  Dafydd  ap  Madoc  Heddwch  o  Rhiwlas  ap  Meilir 
ap  Tanywel  ^p  Tudr  ap  Ithel  ap  Idris  ap  Llewelyn 
Aurdorchog. 

Mam  Humphre  Gruffydd  oedd  Mawd  verch  ac 
etifeddes  Morgan  goch  ap  Sir  Hugh  Prelat  ap 
Gutyn  ap  Gruffydd  ap  leuan  Gethin  ap  y 
Kyffin. 
Mam  Mawd  oedd  Margred  verch  Dafydd  Gethin  ap 
leuan  ap  Dai  ap  Madoc  Llwyd  o  Fochnant 
uwch  Rhaiadr  [to  Ithel  Velyn]. 
Mam  Margred  oedd  Mali  verch  Llew.  ap  Howel  ap 

Kyhelyn  o  FochDant. 
Mam  Dafydd  Gethin  oedd  Gwerfyl  verch  ac  etifeddes 
Madoc  ap  Gruffydd  bach  ap  leuan  fychan  ap 
leuan  ap  lorwerth  foel  ap  leva  Sais. 
Gwraig  Humffre  Gruffydd  oedd  Elen  verch  Roger 
Kynaston  o  Fortyn  ap  Humphre  Kinaston  ap 
Sir  Roger  Kinaston  ap  Gruffydd  ap  Siankin. 

LLANCIEDWYN. 

Griffith  ap  leuan  ap  Sion  ap  Hwydsiwn  ap  lago  ap 
Adda  ap  Meredith  goch  ap  Gruffydd. 

Mam  Griffith  oedd  Gwerfyl  verch  Sion  Dafydd  Llwyd 
ap  Dafydd  Aber  o  Gaereinion. 

Mam  leuan  ap  Sion  oedd  Gwerfyl  verch  Owen  ap 
leuan  ap  Dafydd  fychan  ap  Dafydd  ap  Gruff- 
ydd ap  Ali.  Yr  hon  oedd  fam  Moris  ap 
leuan  ap  Howel  ap  lolyn  ap  leuan  Gethin  ap 
y  Kyffin. 

LLANGEDWTN. 

Sion  ap  leuan  ap  Reinallt  ap  Deio  (neu  Reinallt 
Saer  ap  Deio)  ap  Madoc  Lloyd  ap  Engion  hfin  Goed  o 
Benllyn. 


LLYFR  SILIN.  107 

Mam  Sion  oedd  Margred  verch  [leitan  ap  Howel  ap 
lolyn  ap  leuan  Gethin  ap  y  Kyffinj  Owen  ap  Howel  ap 
leuan  ap  Howel  ap  lolyn  ap  leuan  Gethin  ap  Madoc 
Kyffin. 

Mam  Owen  oedd  Gwenllion  verch  Howel  goch 

GriflGlth  ap  Llew.  ap  Reinallt  Saer  ap  Deio  ap 
Madoc  Llwyd  fal  o'r  blaen. 
Mam  Gruffydd  oedd  Annes  verch  Madoc  ap  lolyn 
ap  Pokyn. 

Dafydd  ap  Gruffydd  ap  Madoc  ap  y  Pokyn. 
Moris  ap  Madoc  ap  y  Pokyn. 
Howel  ap  Gruffydd  ap  Reinallt  ap  Gruffydd 
ap  Howel  ap  Madoc. 
Mam  Howel  oedd  Margred  verch  Siankin  o  Llan- 
rhaiadr. 

Dafydd  ap  Howel  ap  Madoc  Pokyn  yr  hwnn  Pokyn  a  elwid 
leuan  Groch  ap  Howel  Maelor  ap  leva  Ddu. — Glascoed 
MS. 

BODLITH :  PLAS  NEWYDD. 

Richard  Midelton,^  Esq.  ap  Richard  Midelton'  ap 
Richard  Midelton  ap  Ffoulke^  ap  Richard  Midelton  ap 
Ffoulke  Midelton  ap  Dafydd  Midelton  ap  Ririd  Midel- 
ton ap  Robert  Midelton  ap  Ririd  bothon  ap  Ririd  ap 
Madoc  ap  Ririd  Flaidd,  etc. 

Mam  Richard  Midelton  oedd  Elizabeth  verch  Mr. 

Humffre  Lloyd  o  Fers  y  Maelor. 
Mam  Richard   Midleton   oedd  Ann   verch  Andrew 
Meredith  o  Lantanat  ap  leuan  ap  Meredydd 
ap  leuaii  ap  Rys  ap   Dafydd   ap   Howel   ap 
Gruffydd  ap  leuan  Gethin  ap  Madoc  Kyffin. 
Mam  Ann  oedd  Doritie  verch  Sion  Owen  Fychan  ap 

^  Buried  at  Wrexham  upon  Friday  the  23rd  of  Aiagnst  1 700.  Bar- 
bara, the  wife  of  Bichard  Midleton,  was  buried  at  Llansilin  npon 
Friday  the  14th  day  of  June  1695. 

'  Buried  at  Wrexham  upon  Monday  the  3rd  of  February  1678 ; 
.his  wife,  Elizabeth,  buried  upon  the  10th  of  the  following  March. 
High  Sheriff  for  co.  Denbigh,  1650. 

'  High  Sheriff  for  co.  Denbigh,  1619.  Deemed  fit  and  qualified 
to  be  made  a  Knight  of  the  Boyal  Oak. 


108  LLYFR  SIUN. 

Owen  ap  Sion  ap  Howel  Fychan.     Fal  Ach 

Llwydiarth, 
Mam  Eichard  Midleton  oedd  Gwenhwyfar  verch  ac 

etifeddes  Richard  Wynn  ap  Moris  Wynn  o 

Foelyrch  ap  Llew.   ap   leuan  ap   Howel  ap 

leuan  fychan  ap  leuan  Gethin  ap  Madoc  KyflSn. 
Mam  Gwenhwyfar  oedd   liOwri   verch  ac  etifeddes 

Sion  ap  Thomas  ap  Rys  ap  Gutyn  ap  Griiffydd 

ap  leuan  Gethin  ap  Madoc  Kyffin. 
Mam  Lowri  oedd  Kattrin  verch  Dafydd  ap  William 

ap  Meredydd  ap  lolyn  ap  leuan  Gethin  ap  y 

KyflBln.     Cais  Ach  Llannerch  yr  Aur. 
Mam  Bichard  Wynn  oedd  Gwen  verch  Dafydd  LI wyd 

ap  Thomas  Llwyd  o  Fodlith  ap  Dafydd  Lloyd 

ap  Howel  ap  Moris  ap  leuan  Gethin   ap   y 

Kyffin. 
Mam  Kattrin  verch  Dafydd  ap  William  oedd  Lowri 

verch  Sion  ap  Siankyn  fychan  o  Blwyf  Llan- 

fyllin  :  chwaer  Gruffydd  Lloyd  oedd  hi.     Cais 

Ach  Bodfach. 
Mam  Sion  ap  Thomas  ap  Rys  oedd  Margred  verch 

Llewelyn  ap  Moris  goch  o  Gynlleth. 
Mam  Thomas  ap  Rys  ap  Gutyn  oedd  Angharad  verch 

Howel  ap  Madoc  ap  lorwerth  Goch  o  Foch- 

nant. 
Mam  Moris  Wynn  o  Foelyrch  oedd  Sian  verch  yr 

hdn  Sion  Edwards  o'r  Waun  ap  lorwerth  ap 

leuan  ap  Adda  ap  lorwerth  ddu  ap  Ednyfed 

gam. 
Mam  Llew.  ap  leuan  ap  Howel  oedd  Angharad  verch 

Howel  ap  Madoc  ap  lorweth  Goch  o  Fochnant. 
Mam  Gwenhwyfar  Lloyd  oedd  Sioned  verch  Edward 

ap  Bys  ap  Dafydd  ap  Gwilym  o  Eglwyseg. 
Mam  Teuan  ap  Howel  ap  leuan  fychan  oedd  Helen 

verch  Dafydd  ap  leuan  ap  Owen  o  Arwystli. 

Gwel  Arwystli. 
Mam  Thomas  Lloyd  o  Fodlith  oedd  Gwenhwyfar 

verch  leuan   ap   Howel   ap    leuan   fychan   o 

Foelyrch  ap  leuan  Gethin  ap  y  Kyffin. 


LLYFB  8ILIK.  109 

Mam  Sian  verch  Sion  Edwards  oedd  Gwen  verch 
Elis  Eutyn  chwaer  Sion  ap  Elis  Eutyn. 

Mam  Dafydd  Lloyd  ap  Thomas  oedd  Kattrin  verch 
Howel  fychan  ap  Howel  ap  Gruffydd  ap 
Siankm.     Fel  Ach  Llwydiarth. 

Mam  Howel  ap  Moris  oedd  Margred  verch  Dafydd 
ap  Giwn  Llwyd  ap  Dafydd  ap  Madoc  o'r 
Hendwr,  ap  lorwerth  ap  Madoc  ap  Gruffydd 
ap  Owen  Brogyntyn. 

Plant  Ffoulke  Midelton  ap  Dafydd  Midleton  oedd 
Ffoulke ;  Sion  o  Ystrad ;  Bicbard  ;  Robert ; 
Humffre;  a  Thomas;  ac  o  ferched,  Dows 
gwraig  Ffoulke  ap  Bys  ap  Bened ;  ag  Eliza- 
beth. 

Plant  Bichard  Midelton  ap  Ffoulke  oedd  1,  Bichard 
2,  Simwnd ;  3,  William ;  4,  Sir  Thomas ;  5 
Siarles ;  6,  Sir  Hugh ;  7,  Ffoulke ;  8,  Robert 
a  9,  Pyrs  Midelton :  ac  o  ferched  10,  Sian 
11,  Liws;  12,  Margred;  13,  Ales;  14,  Elin 
15,  Grace;  a  16,  Barbara. 

Mam  y  Plant  hyn  oedd  Sian  Dries  verch  Hugh  Dries 
o  Ddinbech. 

Mae  Cedym  am  i  godi 
*  Ac  o  Rhyw  hon  a'i  Gwr  hi 

Naw  Mab  rhoedd  ymhob  rhediad 
A  saith  Loer  orddas  wyth  wlad. 

Rys  Kain  a'i  Farwnad  Bichard  Midelton  eu  Tad  yn 

y  flwyddyn  1577. 
Plant  Ffoulke  Midelton  o  Wenhwyfar  verch  Bichard 

Wynn  ap  Moris  Wynn  oedd  Bichard  Midelton ; 

Ester  gwraig   Sion   Midelton  o  Waunynog ; 

ag  Elizabeth  gwraig  Humffre  Lloyd  o  Fers  y 

Maelor. 
Plant    Richard    Midelton    o    Ann    verch    Andrew 

Meredydd  oedd  Bichard  Midelton ;  Ffoulke  ; 

Andrew ;    Simon ;    a    Boger ;    ac   o   ferched, 

Doritie  gwraig  John  Lloyd  o'r  Fferm  yn  Sir 

Fflint;  Ann;  ac  Elizabeth. 


110  LLYFR  SILIN. 

Plant  John  Midelton  o  Ester  uchod  oedd  Ffoulke 
Midelton  a  Roger  Midelton. 

Plant  Humffre  Lloyd  o  Elizabeth  Midelton  oedd 
Ffoulke  Lloyd,  ac  Ann  Lloyd  gwraig  Thomas 
Lloyd  Attwrney. 

Mam  Ffoulke  Midelton  oedd  Sian  verch  Hugh  Dreias 
o'r  Ardd ;  chwaer  Sion  Dreias  oedd  hi. 

Mam  Kichard  ap  Ffoulke  Midelton  oedd  Ann  Ffletcher 
verch  Thomas  Ffletcher  o  Ddinbech. 

Mam  Ffoulke  Midelton  ap  Dafydd  Midelton^  oedd 
Elin  verch  Sir  John  Don  ap  Siankin  Don. 

Mam  Dafydd  Midelton  oedd^ verch.... Arglwydd 

Broughton. 

Mam  Robert  Midelton  oedd  Sissili  verch  ac  etifeddes 
Sir  Alexander  Midelton:  ac  yno  y  caed  enw 
Midleton. 

Mam  Ririd  Bothon  oedd  Gwenllian  verch  Cadwaladr 
ap  Meiric  ap  Rotpert  ap  Sir  Robert. 

Plant  Ririd  Bothon  o  Sissili  verch  Alexander  Midel- 
ton oedd  Robert  Midelton  ;  ac  i  Robert  y  bu 
Ririd ;  ac  i  Eirid  y  bu  Dafydd  Midelton  hfin. 

Plant  Dafydd  Midelton  hen  o  Elin  Don  oedd  Roger; 
Thomas ;  Ffoulke ;  Dafydd  Midelton  o  Gaer ; 
Sion  ac  Edward ;  ac  o  ferched  Elizabeth  gwraig 
Dafydd  Holand  Taid  Pyrs  Holand ;  Ann  gwraig 
Moris  Gethin  o  Hiraethog  a  graig  Mathew  o'r 

Grin  yn  Llaweni ;  un  arall  oedd gwraig  yr 

h6n  Harri  Heatwn. 

GWAUNYNOG. 

John  Mydlton  ap  Roger  Mydlton  ap  Ffoulke  ap 
John  Mydlton  ap  William^  ap  Sion  ap  Roger 
ap  Dafydd  ap  Ririd  ap  Robert  Mydlton  ap 

1  Receiver  General  for  North  Wales  to  Edward  the  IV. 

*  "  Margret  d'  and  coheire  of  David  ap  Howel  of  Arustley,  by  Als, 
so]  heire  to  Griffith  ap  lenkin,  Lord  of  Broaghton." — Lewys  Dwnn's 
Her.  Vis.  of  Wales,  vol.  ii,  335. 

3  High  Sheriff  of  Denbighshire,  1600. 


LLYPR  8ILIN.  Ill 

Birid   Bothon   ap   Ririd   ap  Madoc  ap  Ririd 

Flaidd. 
Mam  Sion  Mydlton  oedd...^  verch  Dafydd  Lloyd  ap 

Dafydd  ap  leuan  Fychan  ap  Gruffydd  ap  Madoc 

ap  lorwerth  ap  Madoc  ap  Ririd  Flaidd. 
Mam  Roger  Mydlton  oedd  Elin  verch  Sir  John  Don 

ap  Siankin  Don. 
Mam  Dafydd   Mydlton    oedd%..*   verch... Arglwydd 

Brochdyn. 
Owraig  Sion  Mydlton  ap  Roger  oedd  Ales  verch  ac 

acres  Hugh  ap  Elis  ap  Harri  ap  Cynwric  ap 

Ithel  fychan  ap  Cynwric  ap  Rotpert. 
Mam  Ales  oedd  Lowri  verch  William  ap  Meredydd 

ap   Dafydd  ap  Einion  fychan :   chwaer  ^ion 

Wynn  ap  William  (un  fam  un  dad)  o  Llan- 

fair. 
Mam  Hugh  ap  Elis  oedd  Margred  verch  Sion  Aer 

y  Conwy  o  Sioned  Stanley. 
Mam  Elis  ap  Harri  oedd  Sian  verch  Simwnd  Thelwal 

hSn  Bias  y  Ward. 
Mam  Robert  Mydlton  oedd  Sissili  verch  ac  etifeddes 

Sir  Alexander  Mydlton  :  ac  yno  y  caed  enw  y 

Mydeltyniaid. 
Mam  Ririd  Bothon  oedd  Gwenllian  verch  Dafydd 

ap   Cadwaladr  ap  Meiric  ap  Rotpert  ap  Sir 

Robert. 


CASTELL  Y  WAUN. 

Sir  Richard  Midelton  ap  Sir  Thomas  Midelton,' 
Bart,  ap  Sir  Thomas  Midelton*  ap  Sir  Thomas. Midel- 
ton*  ap    Richard    Midelton    ap   Ffoulke   ap   Dafydd 

*  Katfcrin.  «  See  note  2,  p.  110. 

*  Created  a  Baronet  in  1660  ;  M.P.  for  Denbighshire,  1660-81. 

^  Distinguished  himself  in  the  civil  wars ;  elected  M.P.  for  the 
connty  of  Denbigh,  1640. 

^  Sheriff  and  Alderman  of  Loudon ;  served  the  office  of  Lord 
Mayor  in  1613.  Bonght  the  lordship  and  Castle  of  Chirk|  in  1595, 
from  Lord  St.  John  of  Bletsoe. 


112  LLYPR  SILIN. 

Midelton  ap  Ririd  ap  Robert  Midelton  ap  Ririd  Bothon 
ap  Ririd  ap  Madoc  ap  Ririd  Flaidd. 

Ririd  Flaidd  a  fu  Arglwydd  uchaf  ar  pum  plwy 
Penllya  ac  Yfionydd,  Pennant  Melangell,  a'r  Bryn, 
aV  Glyn  yn  Mhowys,  ac  a'r  un-dre-ar-ddeg  yn  Sir  y 
Mwythig. 

CELTNOG  NEU'R  FRON  GOCH. 

John  Wynn  ap  Cadwaladr  ap  Hugh  ap  Owen  ap 
Howel  ap  Owen  ap  leuan  fychan  ap  leva  ap  Heilin 
ap  leva  ap  Adda  ap  Meiric  ap  Cynwric  ap  Pasgen  ap 
Gwyn  ap  GruflFydd  ap  Beli  ap  Selyf  ap  Brochwel  ap 
Aeddan  :  ac  i  Brochwel  Yscythrog. 

Gwraig  Kadwaladr  Wynn  ap  Hugh  ap  Owen  oedd 
Sian  verch  John  ap  William  ap  Meredydd  ap 
lolyn  ap  leuan  Gethin  o  Katrin  verch  Ednyfed 
ap  Gruffydd  o'r  Hendwr. 
Mam  Hugh  ap  Owen  oedd  Margred  verch  Llew.  ap 
Gruffydd  ap  Bleddyn  ap  Robert  ap  Dafydd 
ap  Gronw  ap  lorwerth  ap  Howel  ap  Moreiddig 
ap  Sandde. 
Mam  Owen  ap  Howel  ap  Owen  oedd  Sioned  verch 
leuan  fychan  o  Llanfair  Dyffryn  Clwyd.     Cais 
Gruffydd  Goch, 
Mam  Howel  ap  Owen  oedd  Angharad  verch  Gruf- 
fydd leiaf  ap  Gruffydd  fychan  ap  Dafydd  goch 
ap  Dafydd  ap  Gruffydd  ap  Llew.  ap  lorwerth 
Drwyndwn. 
Gwraig  Hugh  ap  Owen  oedd   Margred   verch   ac 
etifeddes  Gruffydd  ap  lolyn  ap  Gruffydd  ap 
lolyn  ap  leuan  fychan  ap  leuan  Gethin  ap 
Madoc  Kyffin. 
Mam  Gruffydd  ap  lolyn  oedd  Angharad  verch  ac 

etifeddes  Dafydd  ap  Einion. 
Mary  verch  ac  etifeddes  Robert  ap  Hugh  ap  Owen 

a  briodes  James  Philipes  o  Torddusad. 
Plant  Hugh  ap   Owen  o  Fargred  verch  Gruffydd 
oedd  Robert  ap  Hugh  a  briodes  Margred  verch 


LLYPRSILIN.  113 

Lewis  Gwyn  o  Dref  Esgob ;  ac  iddynt  y  bu 
Robert  mort  a  Cadwaladr. 

CRUKIETH. 

Robert   Evanse   ap   Edward  Evanse  ap  leuan  ap 

Meredydd  ap  William   ap   Dafydd   Lloyd  ap  Llew. 

fychan   ap   leuan  ap  Ithel   fychan  ap  Ithel  foel  ap 

Madoc  ap  Cadwaladr  ap  Ririd  ddu  ap  Einion  greulon 

ap  Einion  ap  Ririd  Flaidd. 

Gwraig  gyntaf  Robert  Evanse  oedd...verch  William 

Moris  o  Westyn  ;  gwraig  ddiwetha  oedd  Sian 

verch  Lumle  Williams  o  Estym  Colwyn. 

Mam  Robert  Evanse  oedd  G wen  verch  Edward  Kinas- 

ton  o  Fortyn  ap  Roger  Kinaston. 
Mam  leuan  ap  Meredydd  oedd  Sioned  verch  William 

ap  Adda. 
Mam  Ithel  fychan  oedd  Margred  verch  Madoc  fychan 

ap  leuan  ap  lorwerth  foel  o  Fechain. 
Mam  Llew.  fychan  oedd  Mallt  verch  lorwerth  ap 
Einion  Gethin  o  Gynlleth. 

MABSBRWC  SEF  PBNTREPBRPEDD,  1639. 

Thomas  Gethin  ap  William  ap  Thomas  ap  leuan  ap 
Dafydd  Gethin  ap  leuan  ap  GruflFydd  Gethin  ap  Ririd 
ap  Ed.  Drwyndwn  ap  Einion  ap  Cyfnerth  ap  Iddon 
galed  ap  Trahaiam  ap  lorwerth  hilfawr  o  Halchdyn 
ap  Mael  Melienydd  Arglwydd  Melienydd  ap  Cadfel 
ap  Clydaur  ap  Cadell  ap  Rodri  Mawr. 

Mam  Thomas  Gethin  oedd  Sian  verch  Dafydd  Han- 

mer  o  Bentre  Pant. 
Mam  Sian  oedd  Elizabeth  verch  Roger  Kinaston  o 

Fortyn  ap  Humffre  Kinaston  Wyllt. 
Mam  William  Gethin  oedd  verch  Sieffre  ap  Owen 

Penrhyn  o  Llandrinio  yn  Deuddwr. 
Mam  bono  oedd  Sioned  verch  Sieifre  Kyffin^  Person 
Llandrinio  ap  Meredydd  ap  Howel  ap  Moris. 

1  Rector  of  Llandrinio,  1561-67. 


114  LLYFR  STLIN. 

Mam  Elizabeth  verch  Roger  Kinaston  oedd  Gwen 
verch  Rys  ap  Dafydd  Lloyd  ap  Dafydd  ap 
Rhydderch.     Fel  Gogerddan. 

Plant  Thomas  Gethin  o  Elizabeth  Lwdlo  oedd  Ed- 
ward ;  Thomas ;  Harri ;  a  Roger. 

LLWYNTMAEN. 

Edward  Lloyd  ap  Richard  ap  Edward  Lloyd  ap^ 
Col.  Richard  Lloyd  ap  Edward  ap  Richard  ap  Edward 
ap  Richard  Lloyd  ap  Robert  Lloyd  ap  Meredydd  Lloyd 
ap  Madoc  ap  Griffri  ap  Meiric  Llwyd  ap  Bleddyn 
fychan  ap  Bleddyn  Llwyd  ap  Bleddyn  ap  Gwion  ap 
Kadfach  ap  Arsseth  ap  Gwrgi  ap  Hedd  Molwynog. 
Fal  ach  Hafod  Unos. 

Mam  Richard  Lloyd  ap  Edward  ap  Richard  Lloyd 
oedd   Elizabeth   verch   Richard  Stane  h^n  o 

Groesoswallt  o verch  Sion  Blodwel  ei  mam 

hithau. 
Mam  Edward  Lloyd   ap   Richard  ap  Robert  oedd 
Margred  verch  hdn  Sion  Edwards  o'r  Waun  ap 
lorwerth  ap  leuan  ap  Adda.     Cais  Ach  Sion 
Edwards. 
Mam  Richard  ap  Robert  Lloyd  oedd  Gwenhwyfar 
neu  Ales  verch  Sienkin  Kinaston  ap  Gruftydd 
ap  Sienkin  ap   Madoc  ap  Philip.      Cais  Ach 
Otle. 
Mam  Robert  Lloyd  oedd  Gwenhwyfar  verch  Howel 
ap  leuan   ap   lorwerth   ap    Einion   Gethin   o 
Gynlleth  ap  lorwerth  ap  Cadwgan  ap  Ririd 
ap  Riwallon  ac  i  Fleddyn  ap  Cynfyn. 
I  Meredydd  Lloyd  ap  Madoc  Lloyd  o  Llwyn  y  Maen 
y   bu   Robert   Lloyd   a   dwy   o   ferched   (nid 
amgen)  Margred  a  briodes  Gruffydd  Hanmer 
o'r  Fens,  ac  iddynt  y  bu  pump  o  Feibion  a 
thair    merch    (nid   amgen)    Sienkin    Hanmer, 
Loranse  Hanmer;  Sir  Edward  Hanmer;  Mathew 
ag   William  Hanmer,  ac  o  ferched  Elizabeth 

^  Mewn  ysgrifen  mwy  ddiweddar. 


LLYFR  SILTN.  115 

gwraig  Robert  Dyrnoc ;  Rose  Hanmer;  Blaense 
Hanmer  gwraig  Dafydd  Daca  fychan.  AV  ail 
ferch  i  Meredydd  Lloyd  a  briododd  Richard 
Trefor,  ac  iddynt  y  bu  Edward  Trefor  fychan 
Constabl  Croea  Oswallt  a  Robert  Trefor;  ac 
un  o'r  merched  o  briododd  Richard  ap  Rys  ap 
Moris  ap  leuan  Gethin  ap  Madoc  Kyffin ;  aV 
Hall  a  briododd  Nicholas  ap  Rys  ei  fmwd.  I 
Edward  Trefor  fychan  y  bu  pedwar  mab  a 
merch  (nid  amgen)  Sion  Trefor;  William  Trefor ; 
Richard  Trefor;  a  Sir  Edward  Trefor  a  Damasin 
.  gwraig  Hugh  ap  Moris  ap  leuan  ap  Howel  o 
Llangedwyn ;  a  hono  oedd  Fam  Hugh  ap 
Hugh;  ac  wedi  marw  Hugh  ap  Moris  hi 
briododd  a  Dafydd  ap  GruflFydd  ap  Madoc 
Ddeuddwr. 

Mam  y  Plant  hyn  oedd  Sian  verch  Sion  Wesbri  o 
Groes  Oswallt  o.,.  verch  SiefFre  Kyffin  ei  mam 
hithe  ;  ac  wedi  marw  hono  priodes  Edward 
Trefor  fychan  Wenhwyfar,  chwaer  Sion  Lloyd 
o  I&l  un  fam  un  dad;  ac  iddynt  y  bu  Sion 
Trefor;  Richard  Trefor;  Thomas  a  Moris;  Ales 
a  Blaense. 

Plant  Richard  Lloyd  oedd  Sion  Lloyd  ap  Richard  ac 
Edward  Lloyd  a  Gwenhwyfar  gwraig  Dafydd 
Lloyd  ap  Elisse  ap  Gronw  ap  Einion. 

Mam  y  plant  hyn  oedd  Margred  verch  yr  h6n  Sion 
Edwards  o'r  Waun,  ac  wedi  marw  Richard 
Lloyd  hi  briododd  Thomas  Salter  o  Groes 
Oswallt. 

Plant  Sion  Lloyd  ap  Richard  oedd  Richard  Lloyd 
yr  Aer ;  Sion  Lloyd ;  Thomas  Lloyd ;  a  Rondl 
Lloyd ;  o  Ferched,  Dows  graig  Sion  Kyffin  ap 
Richard  ap  Meredydd ;  Margred  gwraig  Moris 
Lloyd  o  Foelfre ;  Elinor  gwraig  Richard  Stane 
fychan ;  Sioned  gwraig  William  Dafydd  o  Groes 
Oswallt ;  Kattrin  gwraig  Richard  Evanse ;  a 
Sian.  Mam  y  Plant  hyn  oedd  Elizabeth  verch 
Sir  Peter  Newton  o  Sian  Kyffin  verch  SiefFre 

5th  8iB.y  VOL.  y.  .    9 


116  LLYFR  SILIN. 

Kyfl&n  h^n  o  . . .  ferch  . . .  Arglwpdd  Straens  ei 
mam  hithe. 

Plant  Edward^  Lloyd  oedd  Richard  Lloyd  o  Llwyny- 
Maen;  Sion  Lloyd  o'r  Drenewydd;  Hugh 
Lloyd  o  IS,1 :  o  ferched  Margred  gwraig  Ed- 
ward Kinaston  o  Hordle;  Sian  gwraig  Richard 
Trefor  ap  Thomas  Trefor  ap  Edward  Trefor 
h^n,  a  hono  oedd  fam  Sion  Trefor  o  Fortyn 
Newydd;  Elinor  gwraig  Thomas  Evanse  o 
Groes  Oswallt ;  Sioned ;  Ann  gwraig  Sion  ap 
Edward  ap  Hugh  Muxtwn ;  a  Sian.  Mam  y 
rhain  oedd  Elizabeth  verch  Richard  Stane  hen 
o  ferch  Sion  Blodwel  ei  mam  hithe. 

Plant  Richard  Lloyd  oedd  Edward  Lloyd  a  Richard 
Lloyd  oV  Drewen ;  Elizabeth  gwraig  Dafydd 
Lloyd  ap  William  o  Faes  Mochnant ;  Margred 
gwraig  Moris  Lloyd  ap  Thomas  ap  Llew.  oV 
Rhiwlas  uwch  y  Foel;  Liws  gwraig  Sion  Jen- 
nings o  Bentre  Sianen.^ 

Plant  Richard  Lloyd  yr  Aer  ap  Sion  Lloyd  ap 
Richard  oedd  ...  gwraig  Hugh  Meredydd  ap 
Thomas  Meredydd  o  Benygarth  yn  Abertanat : 
etifeddes  oedd  hi. 

Plant  Sion  Wynn  Lloyd'  ap  . . .  oedd  Sion  Lloyd  o 
Llanforda,  Esq. ;  Robert  Lloyd ;  Richai'd  Lloyd ; 
ac  Edward  Lloyd  o  Hafod  y  Garreg,  a  briododd 
Elizabeth  Muxtwn  o  Groes  Oswallt. 

Plant  Sion  Lloyd,  Esq.  o  Llanforda,  meirw  a 
wnaethant  oil  heb  blant  ond  Captain  Edward 
Lloyd*  a  briododd  Ffranses*  verch  Sir  Edward 
Trefor  o  Frynkinallt. 

Plant  Edward  Lloyd  o  Llwynymaen  oedd  Col. 
Richard  Lloyd,  a  Jane  gwraig  Mr.  ..•  Cafle  o 
Sir  Gaer  Lleon. 

^  Constable  of  Oswestry  Castle.   Will  dated  Nov.  14,  and  proved 
Dec.  16,  1544. 

2  Sianel  (?).  »  Living  in  1588. 

*  Died  Feb.  13, 1662 ;  bnried  in  Oswestry  Church. 

*  Died  Dec.  15, 1661 ;  bnried  in  Oswestry  Church. 

®  Governor  of  Oswestry  Castle,  and  colonel  in  the  royal  army. 
Living  in  1599. 


LLYPR  SILIN.  117 

Plant  Hugh  Lloyd  ap  Edward  Lloyd  o  Aeres  Blaen 
141  oedd  Edward  Lloyd  a  briododd  ...  verch 
Elis  fychan  ap  Howel  Fychan  o  Lanyllyn 
Tep^id,  ac  iddynt  y  bu  un  ferch  ac  etifeddes 
...  a  briododd  Owen  Thelwal  o  Blasyward  ap 
...  Thelwal  o  Doritie  verch  Sion  Owen  Fychan 
o  Llwydiarth. 

Plant  Sion  Lloyd  o'r  Drenewydd  oedd  Edward  Lloyd 
a  briododd^  ...*..  un  o  dwy  etifeddesau  Sion 
Trevor  fychan  o  Groes  Oswallt ;  a  Richard 
Lloyd  o'r  Drewen  ac  Humphre  Lloyd. 

Mam  y  plant  hyri  oedd*  . . .  verch  y  Ficar  Prys  o 
Grroes  Oswallt ;  a  raerch  arall  i'r  Ficar  Prys  a 
briododd  Kichard  Kyffin  o'r  Fron,  ap  Dafydd 
Kyffin  ap  Richard  ap  Meredydd  ap  Howel  ap 
Moris. 

Ac  o'i  gariadferch  y  bu  i  Sion  Lloyd  fab  a  elwyd 
Sion  Lloyd  o  Lundain. 

ARGOED:  GENERDINLLE. 

John  Wynn  ap  John  ap  Rys  ap  Owen  ap  Deio  ap 
Llew.  ap  Engnion  ap  Celynin. 

Mam  John  Wynn  oedd  Ales  verch  Dafydd  Lloyd 

ap  Gruffydd  ap  Dafydd  fychan  ap  Dafydd  ap 

Madoc  KyflBln. 
Mam  Ales  oed  Mared  verch  leuan  ap  Howel  ap  leuan 

fychan  o  Foelyrch. 
Mam  Mared  oedd  Angharad  verch  Howel  ap  Madoc 

ap  lorwerth  Goch  o  Fochnant. 

LLWYN  TUDMON. 

Roger  Pugh  ap  Thomas  Pugh  ap  Roger  ap  Thomas 
ap  Hugh  ap  leuan  ap  Meredydd  ap  Gruffydd  ap 
Meredydd  ap  Ednyfed  gam. 

Mam  Roger  oedd  Sina  verch  Moris  Tanat  ap  Robert 
Tanat.     Fal  Ach  Blodwel  fechan. 

*  Catherine.  ■  Eleanor. 

9« 


118  LLYFR  SILIN. 

Mam  Thomas  Pugh  oedd  Margred  verch  Robert 
Wynn  o  Fryukyr. 

Mam  Roger  Pugh  ap  Thomas  Pugh  ap  Hugh  ap 
leuan  oedd  Elizabeth  verch  Roger  Kinaston  o 
Fortyn  ap  Humphre  Ejnaston.    Fal  ach  Hordle. 

Mam  Thomas  ap  Hugh  ap  Teuan  oedd  Ann  verch 
Dafydd  Hanmer  brawd  yr  h^n  Sir  Thomas 
Hanmer,  meibion  i  Richard  Hanmer  ap  Gruf- 
fydd  Hanmer  ap  Jenkin  Hanmer  ap  Sir  David 
Hanmer. 

Maredydd  ap  Gruffydd  ap  Meredydd  uchod  oedd 
frawd  Dafydd  ap  Gruffydd  ap  Meredydd  o'r  Hdnblas 
Carreghova. 

Lucy,  sister  of  Roger,  and  veroh  Thomas  Pugh,  married  Bevis 
Lloyd,  second  son  of  John  Lloyd,  of  Bodidris,  Esq. 

Roger  Pngh  married  Susan,  dr.  of  John  Matthews  of  Blodvel, 
jvre  nx, — T.  M. 

LLTS  FEISSIR. 

Nicholas  ap  Sion  ap  Davydd  Lloyd  bjo  Nicholas  ap 
Rys  ap  Moris  ap  leuan  Gethin  ap  y  Kymn. 
.   Mam  Dafydd  Lloyd  oedd  Ann  verch  Richard  Trefor 

ap    Edward    ap    Dafydd    ap   Ednyved   gam. 

Edrych. 
Mam  Ann  oedd  Annes   verch  Meredydd   Lloyd   o 

Llwynymaen. 
Mam  Nicholas  oedd  Gwenhwyfar  verch  Richard  neu 

Robert  Salter. 
Mam  Rys  ap  Moris  oedd  Margred  verch  ac  un  dair 

etifeddesau  Dafydd  ap  Giwn  Lloyd  or  Hendwr. 
Gwraig  Robert  Tanat  oedd  Gwenhwyfar  verch  ac 

etifeddes  Sion  ap  William  ap  Sienkin. 
Mam  Gwenhwyfar  oedd  Sioned  chwaer  Dafydd  ap 

Nicholas  un  fam  un  dad. 

DRYLL  Y  POBYDD. 

Richard  Lloyd  ap  Dafydd  Lloyd  ap  Meredydd  ap 
Howel  ap  Gruffydd  ap  leuan  fychan  ap  leuan  Gethin 
ap  Madoc  Kyffin. 


LLYPRSILIN.  119 

DRTLL  T  POBYDD.    (YSTTNIAD.) 

[Richard  Evanse  ap  Roger  Evanse  ap  Edward  ap 
Bichard  Evanse  o  Groes  Oswallt. 

Mam  Boger  Evanse  oedd  Jane  verch  Edward  Einas* 
ton  o  Hordle  o  Fargred  verch  Sion  Owen 
Fychan  o  Llwydiarth. 

Mown  ysorifen  mwy  ddiweddar. — I.  M.] 

Mam  Richard  Lloyd  oedd  Kattrin  verch  Nicholas  ap 
Thomas  ap  leuan  ap  Einion  ap  Gruffydd  ap 
LleweljD  ap  Kynwric  ap  Osber.  ^ 

Mam  Kattrin  oedd  Sioned  verch  Robert  Irland  ap 
Richard  Irland :  mam  hono  oedd  Margred  verch 
Sion  ap  Madoc. 

Plant  Richard  Lloyd  oedd  dwy  Ferch  ac  etifeddesau :" 
un  a  briododd  Richard  Evanse  o  Groes  Oswallt 
a  hono  oedd  Fam  Edward  Evanse  o  Dryll  y 
Pobydd  a  hono  a  gadd  y  Tir;  a'r  Hall  a 
briododd  Dafydd  Jones  o  Llanwddyn ;  a  bu 
iddi  fagad  o  blant. 

CROES  OSWALLT. 

Richard  Blodfol  {sic)  ap  John  ap  Richard  ap  John 
Blodfol  ap  leuan  bach  ap  Madoc  ap  leuan  Llwyd  o 
Flodwel  ap  Madoc  ap  Ririd  foel  o  Flodwel  ap  Gruffydd 
ap  Meredydd  ap  Ririd  goch  ap  Meredydd  fychan  ap 
Meredydd  h^n  ap  Howel  ap  Meredydd  ap  Bleddyn  ap 
Cynfyn. 

Mam  Richard  Blodwel  ap  John  oedd  Margred  Lloyd 

verch  ...  Lloyd  ap  Thomas  Lloyd  o  Fodlith. 
Mam  Margred  Lloyd  oedd  Sioned  verch  Edward  ap 

Rys  ap  Dafydd  ap  Gwilym  o  Eglwyseg. 
Mam  John  Blodwel  ap  Richard  oedd  Margred  verch 
John  Kyffin  ap  Meredydd  Lloyd  ap  Gruffydd 
ap  Howel  ap  Meredydd  ap  Tudr.  Fal  Ach 
Thomas  ap  leuan  Lloyd  o  Llanarmon  Dyffryu 
Ceiriog. 
Mam  Sion  Blodwel  ap  leuan  bach  oedd  verch 


120  LLYFR  SILIN. 

Gruffydd  Goch  ap  Meiric  o  Ddyffryn  Clwyd  ac 
i  Gowryd  o  Dad  i  Dad. 
Mam  Richard  Blodwel  ap  Sion  ap  leuan  bacli  oedd 
Margred  verch  ac  etifeddes  Ednyfed  ap  leuan 
Bwla. 

CROES  OSWALLT. 

Sion  Trefor  fychan  ap  Sion  Trefor  ap  Sion  ap  Edward 
Trefor  ap  Richard  Trefor  ap  Edward  ap  Dafydd  ap 
Ednyfed  Gam  ap  lorwerth  foel  ap  lorwerth  fychan  ap 
yr  h6n  lorwerth  ac  i  Tudr  Trefor. 

Mam  Sion  Trefor  fychan  oedd  Kattrin  verch  Sion 
Lloyd  o  I&l,  chwaer  Sir  leuan  Lloyd. 

Mam  yr  ail  Sion  oedd  Elizabeth  verch  Humphre 
Kinaston  Wyllt. 

Mam  Elizabeth  oedd  Margred  verch  William  ap  Gruf- 
fydd ap  Robyn  o  Gychwillan. 

Mam  Sion  Trefor  ap  Edward  Trefor  oedd  Sian  verch 
Richard  Winsbri  o  Elizabeth  verch  Sieffre  Kyffin 
h6n. 

Mam  Edward  Trefor  fychan  oedd  Annes  verch  Mere- 
dydd  LI wyd  o  Llwyny maen.  G wel  Ach  Llwy ny- 
maen. 

Plant  yr  ail  Sion  Trefor  o  Kattrin  verch  Sion  Lloyd 
0  IdA  oedd  Sion  Trefor  fychan  a  briododd  Mar- 
gred verch  Richard  Stane  fychan ;  Tudr  Trefor ; 
a  Ffransis  Trefor ;  ac  o  ferched  Kattrin  gwraig 
Sion  Wynn  ap  Hugh  o  Llangedwyn,  Elizabeth 
gwraig  Sion  Kyffin  ap  Hugh  ei  Frawd;  a 
gwraig  Robert  o  Gadair  yn  Ngeinmeirch. 

Plant  Sion  Trefor  fychan  o  Fargred  verch  Richard 
Stane  fychan  oedd  dwy  verch  ac  etifeddesau  : 
un  oedd  Margred  gwraig  Edward  Lloyd  o'r 
Drenewydd ;  a'r  Hall  Doritie  gwraig  William 
Cowper  o  Groes  Oswallt 

Mam  Richard  Trefor  ap  Edward  ap  Dafydd  ap  Ed- 
nyfed Gam  oedd  Angharad  verch  Robert  ap 
Richard  ap  Sir  Roger  Pilston, 


LLYFR  SILIN.  121 

Mam  Edward  ap  Dafydd  ap  Ednyfed  Gam  oedd 

Gwenhwyfar  verch  Adda  Goch  ap  leuan  ap 

Adda  ap  Awr  ap  leva  ap  Kyhelyn  ap  Tudr  ap 

Rys  Sais. 
Mam  Gwenhwyfar  oedd  Angharad  verch  Dafydd  ap 

Adda  ap   Meiric  ap   Kynfric  ap   Pasgen  ap 

Gwynn  ap  Gruff,  ap  Beli. 
Mam  Angharad  oedd  Marred  verch  Meredydd  ap 

Phuip  ap  Gruflfydd  ap  Meredydd  ddu  ap  Gruf- 

fydd  ap  Meredydd  ap  Einion  ap  Kynfelyn  ap 

Dolffin. 
Mam  Dafydd  ap  Ednyfed  Gam  oedd  Wladys  verch 

Llewelyn  ap  Madoc  ap  Einion  ap  Uchdryd  ap 

Edwin. 
Mam  Wladys  oedd  Wenhwyfar  Greg. 
Mam  Margred  verch  Richard  Stane   fychan   oedd 

Elinor  verch  Sion  Lloyd  ap  Richard  o  Elsbeth 

verch  Sir  Peter  Newton  ei  mam  hithe. 
Mam  Ednyfed  gam  oedd  Wladys  verch  lorwerth  ap 

Gru]ffydd{T) ap  Heilin  or  Frongoch  yn  Mhowys 

ap  leuan  ap  Adda. 
Mam  lorwerth  foel  oedd  Kattrin  verch  Gruffydd  ap 

Llewelyn  ap  lorwerth  Drwyndwn. 
Mam  lorwerth  ap  Griffri  [Llyfr  Roger  Kyffin]  oedd 

Mallt  verch  Eunydd  ap  Llowarch  ap  Bran. 

(To  he  conHwusd,) 


122 


NOTES  ON  THE  OLDER  CHURCHES  IN  THE 

FOUR  WELSH  DIOCESES. 

BT  THE   LATE 

SiE  STEPHEN  RICHARD  GLYNNE,  Bart. 

{Continued  from  Vol.  iv,  p.  289.) 


LLANSAMLET   (ST.    SAMLET). 

June  4, 1860. 

An  uninteresting  church,^  almost  wholly  modernised, 
and  in  a  poor  style.  It  retains  its  original  form, 
a  chancel  and  nave,  with  west  tower,  and  south 
porch,  and  possibly  the  walls  are  original,  but  all  old 
features  completely  masked.  The  chancel-arch  is  a 
sham  one.  The  windows  have  pointed  arches;  the 
eastern  one  has  the  original  hood,  returned,  with 
corbel -head  at  the  apex.  The  roof  is  flagged,  and 
looks  old.  The  churchyard  very  spacious,  extending 
south  and  west,  but  not  north.  The  tower  is  not 
square. 


RURAL   DEANERY  OF  CASTLEMARTIN. 


ANGLE  (ST.  MARY). 

Augast  5, 1871. 

Also  a  church  of  the  local  type,  but  with  some 
varieties,  comprising  nave,  chancel  with  north  chapel, 
a  transept  or  chapel  on  the  north  of  the  nave,  a  south 
porch,  and  a  tower  at  the  west  end.  The  church  has 
been  carefully  restored,  and  is  in  excellent  condition, 
with  open  seats  and  stalled  chancel.  The  tower  has  a 
rude,  pointed  arch  opening  to  the  nave,  and  the  usual 

^  This  church  has  been  taken  down,  and  a  new  one  erected  in  its 
stead. 


NOTES  ON  THE  OLDER  CHURCHES,  ETC.      123 

plain  vault  to  its  lower  part.  It  is  without  string- 
course or  buttress,  and  has  a  square  turret  at  the 
south-west,  an  embattled  parapet,  a  corbel-table,  and 
belfry-windows  of  two  square-neaded  lights.  There 
is  much  bare  wall.  The  windows  have  been  restored, 
and  are  of  early  Decorated  character ;  one  of  three,  the 
others  of  two  lights.  The  north  chapel  opens  to  the 
nave  by  a  chamfered  arch,  and  by  a  similar  one  to  the 
north  aisle  of  the  chancel.  The  chancel-arch  is  pointed, 
and  appears  to  be  new,  having  shafts  corbeled  with 
foliage  of  vines  and  grapes  in  the  capitals.  The  chancel 
is  divided  from  the  north  aisle  by  two  pointed  arches 
of  small  size,  chamfered  on  a  square  pier  with  angles 
chamfered,  the  arches  resting  on  a  kind  of  wedge- 
corbels  on  the  pier.  In  this  chapel  is  the  organ.  The 
chancel  has  Decorated  windows  ;  at  the  east,  of  three 
lights ;  on  the  south,  of  two  lights ;  but  that  at  the 
south-east,  single  and  trefoiled,  has  a  stone  seat 
divided  into  two  by  a  stone  elbow.  The  east  wall  is 
decorated  with  colour,  and  most  of  the  windows  have 
new  coloured  ffl^fis.  The  altar  has  candlesticks.  The 
roofs  are  good,  with  collars  and  arched  timbers,  with 
quatrefoil  in  the  spaces.  The  north  aisle  has  one  lan- 
cet and  one  two-light  window.  The  font  seems  to  be 
new,  but  is,  at  any  rate,  on  an  ancient  model,  a  square 
bowl  scolloped. 

There  is  a  cross  in  the  churchyard,  restored,  on  high 
steps.  On  the  north  side  of  the  churchyard  is  a  curious, 
ancient  chapel,  restored,  vaulted  in  stone,  having  an 
ancient  altar.  The  east  window  is  square-headed,  of 
two  trefoiled  lights ;  other  windows  single.  There  is 
a  piscina,  and  the  effigy  of  what  appears  to  be  a  female. 
Beneath  is  a  crypt  or  undercroft  approached  by  a  door 
at  the  east  end.^ 

^  Tbe  restoration  was  executed  by  Mr.  Penson,  with  the  advice 
of  the  present  Dean  of  St.  David's. 


NOTES  ON  THE  OLDER  CHUBCHES 


BOSHERSTON,  PEHB.  (ST.  HICHAEL).^ 

Jvlj  81,  tSGO. 
This  church  presents  the  usual  type  of  the  southern 
part  of  PembroKeshire.  It  consists  of  a  nave,  chancel, 
south  transept,  and  west  tower,  with  north  and  south 
porches  of  very  large  size,  almost  equal  to  the  tran- 
septs. The  chancel  is  lower  than  the  nave.  Both 
chancel  and  transept  open  to  the  church  1^  coarse, 
pointed  arches,  and  the  whole  church  has  a  plain,  stone 


vault.  The  tower-arch  is  also  very  rude  and  pointed, 
and  the  tower  has  a  plain  stone  vault.  There  is  a 
hagioscope  on  the  south,  cutting  the  angle  between 
the  nave  and  chancel.  All  the  windows  have  been 
altered  into  villainous  sashes.   The  font  is  cup-shaped, 

'  Restored  hy  Mr.  Brandon  since  these  notes.  The  ohancel  has 
now  an  open  timber  roof.  The  north  porch  has  been  taken  down. 
There  is  an  ancient  chnrchjard-cross  with  the  &ce  of  the  Savioar 
carved  at  the  intersection  of  the  arms.  (_Arch.  Camh.,  td1>  vii,  3rd 
Ser.,  p.  213.) 


IN  THE  FOUR  WELSH  DIOCESES.  125 

on  a  cylindrical  stem,  with  band  round  it,  and  a  square 
plinth.  There  is  a  stone  bench  round  the  tower.  The 
tower  is  lofty,  and  tapers,  and  is  not  square,  having  a 
battlement  and  a  corbel-table,  but  no  buttresses. 
There  Is  a  square  turret  at  the  south-east.  The  lofty 
windows  are  slits,  and  there  are  a  few  others  in  the 
tower.  There  is  an  ugly  reredos,  and  the  sacrarium  is 
laid  with  marble. 

NASH   (ST.    HARY). 

This  church  seems  to  have  been  wholly  rebuilt, 
except  that  some  portions  of  the  original  walls  may 
remain.  The  walls  are  partially  slated.  It  is  a  plain 
oblong  building  with  square-headed  windows  and  a 


modem  beilcot  at  the  west  end.  In  the  churchyard 
is  a  fine  sepulchral  effigy  of  a  knight,'  neglected  and 
overgrown  with  moss,  with  helmet  of  fifteenth  cen- 
tury, and  his  hand  on  his  sword.  There  is  also  at) 
old  font  with  square  bowl, 

UPTON, 

Aagnst  i,  1S71. 

This  small  chapel,  belonging  to  the  castle,*  but  not 
forming  a  part  of  it,  is  an  ancient  building,  the  exte- 

'  Arch.  Camb.,  4th  Serien,  vol.  xii,  p.  245. 

•  Of  Upton  Castle  the  entrance  remains,  between  two  bastions 
with  machicolations.     Mocb  of  it  is  modemiBed,  and  occupied  as  a 

dnelliDg-hoaso. 


126  NOTES  ON  THE  OLDER  CHURCHES 

rior  of  which  is  much  mantled  with  ivy,  having  a  nave 
and  chancel  worthy  of  notice,  thou^  difiueed  for  divine 
service,  and  much  out  of  condition.  The  chancel-arch  is  a 
small  obtuse  one.  The  windows  are  mostly  modem,  save 
a  narrow  single  one  on  the  south  of  the  chancel.  The 
north  wall  is  original,  the  south  side  is  modernised.  The 
font'  has  a  square  bowl  scolloped,  on  circular   stem. 


There  are  three  good  sepulchral  remains.  On  the 
north  of  the  nave  a  fine  Perpendicular  tomb,  paneled 
with  flattened  ogee  canopy  having  foliation,  rich  and 
flanking  pinnacles,  which  are  charged  with  two  tiers 
of  niches  containing  small  statues.  On  the  tomb  is 
the  recumbent  effigy  of  a  knight  in  armour  of  the  fif- 
teenth century.  In  the  chancel,  on  a  flat  stone,  is 
the  head  of  a  priest  with  a  floriated  cross  running 

>  Arch.  Camb.,  4th  Scr.,  vol.  xi,  p.  295. 


IN  THE  FOUE  WELSH  DIOCESES,  127 

along  the  slab,  and  inscription.  On  the  north  of  the 
sacrarium,  under  a  canopy,  is  a  fine  effigy  of  a  lady,  well 
preserved,  having  reticulated  headdress  ajid  kirtle.' 


PWLLCBOCHAN   (sT.    DECUMANUS). 

Angnit  6, 1B7]. 

The  church  is  supposed  to  have  been  erected  by 
Redulph  Benyer  in  the  fourteenth  century,  whose  effigy 
is  in  the  south  transit,  under  a  recess,  inscribed — 
"Hie  jacet Redulphus  Benyer,  hujus  ecclesia."  Another 
inscription  runs :  "  Erat  iste  ecclesia  constructa  de 
novo,  cum  capella  ista  per  Redulphum  Benyer  qui 
rexit  ecclesiam  per  annos.  a.d.  1342."  This  is  in 
the  north  transept.  This  church  is  of  a  kind  frequent 
in  South  Pembrokeshire,  and  consists  of  a  nave  and 
chancel,  a  north  transept,  and  a  tower  in  the  place  of 
a  south  transept,  and  crowned  by  a  stone  spire.  There 
is  a  south  porch,  now  closed  and  used  as  a  vestir. 
The  arches  to  the  tower  and  transept  are  remarkably 
fiat,  and  there  is  an  original  vestry  north  of  the  chancel 
opening  by  a  flat  arch,  and  having  a  square-headed 

'  Above  the  tomb  known  as  die  Malefant  tomb  there  bas  been 
recently  found,  under  whitewash,  a  coat  of  arms,  thus  dencribed ; 
charge  on  first, — argent,  a  chevron  between  three  martlets  table  ; 
2nd,  bairy  of  ten  gales  azure  and  tahU,  a  ohief  or ;  3rd,  lion  ram- 
pant (P),  very  iadiBtinct ;  4th,  same  as  1st.  In  the  wall  on  the 
north  side  of  the  chancel-arch  is  &  stone  candelabrnm  in  the  form  of 
a  hand  and  wrist,  jatting  oat  abont  a  foot.  {Arch.  GanA.,  4th  Ser., 
vol.  xii,  p.  241.) 


D  in  npton  Chapel . 


128  NOTES  ON  THE  OLDER  CHURCHES 

two-light  labeled  window.  The  chancel  has  a  lancet, 
now  closed,  set  at  the  south-west  as  a  lychnoscope. 
The  chancel-arch  is  pointed,  and  very  plain.  There  is 
a  magnum  sedile  in  the  chancel  on  the  south.  On 
the  north  of  the  nave  is  an  original  door  with  pointed 
arch.  The  tower  is  quite  of  the  local  type,  lofty  and 
rude,  with  embattled  parapet,  under  which  is  a  corbel- 
table,  and  neither  stringcourse  nor  buttress.  There  is 
a  square-headed  window  in  the  tower.  Perpendicular, 
of  two  lights.  The  belfry  windows  are  plain  single- 
lancets.  The  spire  is  octagonal,  and  perfectly  plain, 
without  ribs,  and  there  are  small  oilet  openings  in  the 
battlement.  The  chancel  has  no  windows  on  the 
south.     The  west  window  is  a  new  one.^ 

RHOSCROWTHER  (ST.  MARY). 

Augast  6f  1871. 

An  interesting  specimen  of  the  South  Pembrokeshire 
church,  comnrising  nave,  north  transept,  chancel  with 
south  chapel,  north  and  south  porches,  and  tower  on 
the  south  side  in  place  of  a  transept.  There  is  also 
an  odd  chapel  on  the  south  of  the  nave  near  the  west, 
at  first  sight  looking  like  a  porch.  The  whole  is  in 
decent  order,  and  the  roofs  have  been  renewed  and 
covered  with  slates.  The  tower  is  of  really  fine 
masonry,  resembling  that  of  PwUcrochan,  but  is  sur- 
mounted, instead  of  a  spire,  with  embattled  parapet 
and  four  pinnacles.  The  tower  is  undivided  by  string- 
courses, and  has  no  buttresses,  but  a  plain  projection 
at  the  south-west.  There  is  a  corbel-table  under  the 
parapet;  the  belfry-windows  are  single  on  the  north 
and  south,  double  on  the  east  and  west,  all  obtusely 
pointed.  The  pinnacles  are  rather  poor.  A  Decorated 
two-light  window  is  inserted  in  the  tower.  The  tower 
has  a  stone  vault,  and  the  lower  part  is  open  to  the 
nave  by  a  plain  pointed  arch,  and  the  staircase  opens 

^  North  porch  bailt  in  1882.  Spire  nnfortaoatelj  mnch  damaged 
by  the  gale  of  December  8,  1886.  Dedication  in  Bees,  St.  Marj  ; 
perhaps  here  confused  with  Bhoscrowther,  which  is  near. 


IN   TfflS  FOUR  WELSH   DIOCESES.  129 

internally  by  a  plain  door.  Between  the  tower  and 
south-  chancel-aisle  is  a  low  flat  arch.  A  similar  arch 
opens  to  the  north  transept,  which  also  is  vaulted. 
Tne  chancel-arch  is  a  narrow  one  set  in  much  wall, 
and  on  each  side  of  it  is  a  pointed  arch  of  hagioscopic 
kind,  but  dissimilar.  The  nave  has  a  bell-cot  over  its 
east  end.  The  nave  has  a  new  west  window  of  three 
lights  and  Decorated  character.  The  north  transept 
has  a  plain  window  of  two  trefoil  heads,  and  a  squint 
occupying  the  angle  to  the  chancel.  In  this  transept 
is  a  tomb  of  the  seventeenth  century,  under  a  flat 


Pewter  Chalice  found  at  Rhoscrowther  Church*  Pembrokeshire. 

arch.  The  porch  is  very  large,  and  resembles  a  tran- 
sept; it  is  charged  with  some  heraldic  shields,  and 
has  a  plain  obtuse  arch,  a  plain  vault  and  a  triangular 
stoup,  and  a  statue  over  the  door.  The  chapel  on  the 
south  side  has  a  pointed  recess  in  its  east  wall,  and 
another— perhaps  a  piscina— in  its  south  wall ;  also 
an  oblong  recess  at  the  north-east,  and  a  rude  pointed 
arch  into  the  nave. 

The  chancel  has  no  window  on  the  north ;  on  the 
south,  two  of  Decorated  character  of  two  lights ;  at 
the  east  is  a  window  of  two  lights,  which  is  poor 


130        NOTES  ON  THE  OLDER  CHURCHES 

Decorated.  That  at  the  east  of  the  south  aisle  is 
Perpendicular,  and  restored.  In  the  east  wall  is  a 
pointed  arch.  On  the  north  a  small  oblong  recess, 
and  a  fine  sepulchral  arch  with  double  canopy,  and 
foliage  in  the  spandrils,  flanked  by  pinnacles.  On 
the  south  of  the  altar  is  a  small  piscina.  Between 
the  chancel  and  south  chapel  are  two  rude  pointed 
arches  of  a  local  type,  without  mouldings,  and  a  rude 
pier,  having  its  angles  chamfered.  In  the  south 
chapel  are  two  sepulchral  recesses,  of  ogee  form,  with 
good  foliation,  and  a  piscina  with  ogee  canopy  trefoiled.^ 
The  font  is  Early,  of  a  good  common  form,  a  square 
bowl,  scolloped  below,  on  a  circular  stem.* 


EURAL  DEANERY  OF  DEWSLAND. 


I 

FISHGUARD^. 

Aagnst  2, 1850. 

This  very  mean  church,  unworthy  of  a  populous 
parish,  is  scarcely  distinguishable  from  the  adjacent 
houses,  the  walls  are  so  very  low,  and  the  appearance 
insignificant.      The  walls  are  probably  ancient,  but 

^  The  Bonth  porch  has  been  taken  down.  The  tower-pinnacles 
are  a  modern  addition  to  the  tower.  Dedication  in  Rees,  St.  Decn- 
manns.     There  is  a  St.  Dagman's  Well  in  the  parish. 

*  In  digging  a  grave  in  Rhds  Crowther  churchyard,  near  Penoi- 
broke,  for  the  interment  of  the  late  Rector,  the  Rey.  G-.  H.  Scott,  in 
August  1887,  several  graves  were  found  side  by  side,  divided  by 
stone  walls.  The  bodies  would  seem  to  have  been  buried  within 
these  stone  walls  instead  of  in  coffins,  and  were  probably  interred 
beneath  the  floor  of  the  church,  as  the  corner  in  which  they  were 
found  may  have  formed  part  of  the  area  of  the  church  before  the 
erection  of  the  tower,  which  is  of  later  date  than  the  rest  of  the 
sacred  edifice.  In  one  of  the  graves  an  ancient  chalice  of  pewter  or 
latten  was  found  in  good  preservation.  It  is  4  inches  in  height, 
and  is  a  plain,  weighty  chalice,  indicating,  doubtless,  the  last  resting- 
place  of  some  priest  of  many  centuries  ago,  probably  some  former 
rector  of  the  ancient  church  of  St.  Decumanus,  the  patron  saint  of 
Rh6s  Crowther  and  its  excellent  well  and  springs. — C.  M. 


IN   THE   FOUR  WELSH   DIOCESES.  131 

the  original  character  is  obliterated,  all  the  windows 
being  modern,  and  the  ceiling  a  flat  one  of  plaster. 
The  chancel-arch  is  pointed,  but  somewhat  modern- 
ised, the  interior  filled  with  new  pews.  At  the  west 
end  is  a  double  bell-gable,  but  only  one  bell.  The 
font  octagonal,  and  seems  modern.^ 


ST.  NICHOLAS  (PEMBROKESHIRE).^ 

Augrust  Z,  1860. 

A  small  church,  in  general  features  resembling  Llan- 
wnda,  but  not  having  aisles,  but  a  south  transepted 
chapel.  The  arches  opening  to  both  chancel  and 
transept  are  very  plain,  low,  and  middle-pointed  ones. 
The  south  transept  has  a  plain  pointed  vault.  The 
rest  has  wide  Welsh  open  roofs.  There  is  a  Sanctus 
bell-cot  in  the  east  gable  of  the  nave,  and  two  in  the 
west  gable,  which  forms  a  small  projection.  At  the 
angle  between  the  chancel  and  transept  is  a  kind  of 
hagioscope.  The  font  resembles  that  at  Llanwnda, 
but  the  bowl  diminishes  downwards.     The  windows 

1  "  The  Fishgnard  parish  chnrch  was  rebuilt  entirely,  and  opened 
by  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Thirl  wall  on  the  22nd  day  of  Jnly  1857. 
The  chnrch  is  bnilt  without  any  pillars ;  a  large  nave,  with  an 
arched  roof  of  massive  timber- work.  Any  ordinary  architect  of  the 
present  day  wonld  have  hesitated  before  he  attempted  to  roof  in  a 
nave  of  60  feet  by  40  feet,  and  50  feet  high,  with  only  tiebeams 
in  wood.  Mr.  Clark,  the  architect,  has  thrown  over  it  a  series  of 
oironlar  arches  coming  down  7  feet  below  the  wall-plate  ere  they 
rest  on  corbels  as  their  ultimate  points  of  support.  Upon  these 
arches  he  rests  the  principals  of  the  roof,  locking  them  all  together 
with  iron  bolts ;  and  he  thus  carries  the  main  thrust  of  the  roof 
right  down  to  the  ground  by  means  of  the  corbels  placed  low,  and 
strengthened  by  short  external  buttresses.  The  nave  is  divided  by 
a  massive  arch.  The  chancel  has  a  circular  apse.  The  style  of  the 
architecture  is  that  of  the  thirteenth  century,  which  is  to  be  seen  in 
old  churches  now  in  the  south-west  of  France.  The  church  has 
always  been  admired  for  its  stability  and  strength,  and  also  for  its 
simplicity,  easy  and  suitable  for  divine  service." 

Copied  by  me  from  The  Pembrokeshire  Herald,  24  July  1857. 

William  Rowlands, 
29  Oct.  1887.  Vicar  of  Fishguard. 

«  Restored  by  Mr.  Penson,  1865. 

5th  8EB.,  VOL.  V.  10 


132  NOTES  ON  THE  OLDER  CHURCHES 

all   abominable  modern  inventions,  and  the  interior 
very  dirty  and  damp. 

In  this  wild,  stony  parish  are  several  cromlechs, 
some  also  in  Llanwnda. 

RUDBA.XTON  (ST.  MICHAEL). 

Jane  16, 1869. 

A  pretty  good  specimen  of  the  Pembrokeshire  church, 
and  m  good  repair.  Consists  of  a  nave  and  chancel, 
each  with  south  aisle,  west  tower,  and  south  porch. 
In  the  chancel-arcade  the  arches  are  wider  and  the 
column  smaller  than  in  the  nave.  The  roof  seems  to 
be  new;  the  aisle  begins  east  of  the  porch,  as  at  St. 
Martin,  Haverfordwest,  and  is  extended  along  the 
chancel.  The  nave  is  divided  from  the  aisle  by  two 
plain  obtuse  arches  upon  a  central  circular  column 
with  square  capital.  The  chancel-arch  is  a  plain 
pointed  one.  The  chancel  opens  to  the  aisle  by  two 
somewhat  flat  arches,  on  circular  column  with  square 
capital.  There  is  a  single  lancet  on  the  north  of  the 
chancel.  The  east  window  is  a  new  one  of  two  lights ; 
the  other  windows  are  labeled,  square-headed,  Perpen- 
dicular, of  three  lights.  There  are  head-corbels  on 
each  side  of  the  chancel-arch.  The  tower-arch  is  a 
plain  pointed  one.  The  font  is  of  a  common  kind  in 
this  country.  The  bowl  square,  scolloped  at  its  base, 
on  a  circular  stem  set  on  square  pedestal.  At  the 
east  end  of  the  aisle  the  wall  is  occupied  by  a  very 
large  monument,  having  three  arched  divisions — (1) 
containing  the  figure  of  a  man,  (2)  those  of  a  man 
and  wife,  (3)  the  same.  All  the  figures  carry  a  skull, 
and  are  of  the  family  of  Howard,^  dates  respectively 

^  The  insoriptions  on  the  Howard  monnment  are  arranged  in 
three  rectangular  panels,  one  nnder  each  group  of  figures,  being  aa 
follows : — 

No.  1.  Below  the  fignre  of  George  Howard,  holding  a  skull  in  his 
left  hand,  and  pointing  to  it  with  the  right, — 

"  To  the  memory  of  George 

Howard  of  this  parish  Esq. 

who  departed  this  life  y* 


IN   THE   FOUR   WELSH   DIOCESES.  133 

1665,  1668, 1685.     The  tower  is  of  the  strong  military 
type,  with  parapet  and  corbel-table,  belfry  windows  of 
two  lights,  plain,  west   window  of  two  lights,  and 
some  other  small  slit-like  openings.     Neither  string- 
ed' day  of  May  An»  1665 
Aged  32  yeares 
And  lyeth  before  this 
Monument." 

No.  2.  Below  the  fignres  of  James  Howard  and  his  wife  Joanna, 
holding  aknlls,  and  each  grasping  the  hand  of  the  other, — 

''  To  the  Memory  of  James  Ho 

ward  of  this  parish  Esq.  who 

lyeth  before  this  Monument 

and  departed  this  life  the  29'^ 

day  of  November  An**  1668 

Aged  35  Yeares 

Also  to  the  Memory  of  Joanna 

the  wife  of  James  Howard  who 

erected  this  monument  for 

her  dear  Friends  &  Children 

with  the  intent  to  Joyne  part 

ner  to  this  Monument  &  left  this 

life." 

No.  3.  Below  the  figures  of  Thomas  and  Mary  Howard,  joining 
hands  and  holding  skulls, — 

"  To  the  Memory  of  Thomas 
Howard  of  this  parish  Esq. 
and  Mary  the  son  &  daugh- 
ter of  lames  Howard  & 
loanna  bis  wife.     Thomas 
departed  this  life  the  7* 
day  of  July  An°  Dom.  1682 
&  Mary  y*  first  of  lanuar' 
An"  Dom  1685." 

At  the  top  of  the  monument  are  three  heraldic  shields :  1,  that 
of  James  Howard,  a  bend  between  three  lions  rampant ;  2,  Howard 
impaling  Cadifor  ap  Dinawal ;  3,  Cadifor  ap  Dinawal,  «a.,  a  spear*s 
head  between  three  scaling  ladders  of  four  steps  ar, ;  on  a  chief  gu., 
a  tower  of  the  second.  There  are  a  few  gravesfcones  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  in  the  pavement  of  the  church, — to  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Prichard,  1646;  to  Jane,  the  wife  of  George  Hay  ward,  1620;  and 
to  Thomas  Hayward,  1621 ;  to  Phe..  Davies,  second  daughter  of  the 
Bight  Bev.  Bishop  Fields,  who  married  two  husbands,  viz..  Dr. 
Thomas  Prichard  and  Capi  Thomas  Davies,  1679.  There  is  also  a 
monument  to  Qleneral  John  Pioton,  dated  1815. 

10 » 


134  NOTES   ON   THB   OLDER  CHURCHES 

course  nor  buttress,  but  again  a  stair-turret  at  the 
north-east.  The  porch  is  vaulted;  in  it  is  a  circular 
stoup. 

RURAL  DEANERY  OF  NARBERTR 


CRONWRW.^ 

Angast  20, 1869. 

This  church  has  been  much  modernised,  is  of  a 
cruciform  plan,  with  north  and  south  transeptal  chapels, 
but  the  tower  is  at  the  west  end.  The  tower  remains 
untouched,  and  is  of  the  rude  quasi-military  character, 
has  embattled  parapet  and  corbel-table,  without  string- 
course or  buttress ;  all  the  openings  are  merely  plain 
slits.  The  central  battlement  on  the  west  side  is  long, 
but  not  on  the  others.  The  west  door  modern.  Much  of 
the  outer  wall  seems  to  have  been  rebuilt,  and  with 
quoins  at  the  corners,  and  the  windows  are  of  doubt- 
mi  character,  of  two  lights,  under  a  pointed  arch,  and 
no  tracery.  The  north  wall  has  more  of  an  original 
aspect.  The  arches  opening  to  the  chancel  and  tran- 
septs are  pointed,  and  quite  plain.  The  interior  is 
dreary,  kept  clean,  but  pewed.  On  the  north  of  the 
chancel  is  a  pointed  arch  in  the  wall. 

ST.    ISSELL.' 

July  1,1867. 

This  church  seems  to  have  been  wholly  recon- 
structed, save  the  tower ;  but  it  is  possible  that  the 

^  Crunwear,  Cmnwere,  or  Cronwere,  dedicated  to  St.  Elidyr. 
Restored  in  1878  at  a  cost  of  £550.  Architect,  Mr.  T.  David,  Lang- 
harne.  West  door  then  closed  np,  and  original  entrance  from  the 
south  side  again  made  use  of.  The  Pointed  arch  on  the  north  of 
the  chancel  no  longer  exists,  as  a  new  vestry  was  built  at  the  last 
restoration.  The  insertion  of  four  additional  windows  has  much 
improved  the  lighting  of  the  interior.  No  longer  pewed,  but  seated. 

^  Restored  by  Mr.  Kempson  in  1864.  No  special  structural 
changes  since  *'  Notes".  What  is  termed  a  vestry,  on  the  north  side, 
is  really  a  continuation  of  the  north  aisle  to  the  east.  The  south- 
east window  has  only  one  trefoil  light,  and  the  sedile  sill  has  been 
removed  to  make  room  for  the  chair.  The  double  trefoil  described 
is  west  of  the  altar-rails. 


IN   THE   POUR  WELSH   DIOCESES.  135 

original  plan  may  have  been  in  some  measure  pre- 
served, but  made  more  regular  and  capacious,  on  account 
of  the  increased  population.  The  present  arrange- 
ment is  nave  with  north  and  south  aisles,  chancel, 
south  porch,  and  western  tower.  The  nave  has  on 
each  side  an  arcade  of  four  pointed  arches  on  octa- 

Sfonal  pillars  with  plain  cups.  The  chancel-arch  is 
ofty  and  pointed,  and,  from  its  singularity,  is  probably 
original,  having  cylindrical  mouldings  carried  down 
through  the  capitals.  The  windows  of  the  nave  are 
generally  single  and  trifoliated,  at  the  east  of  the 
aisles,  of  two  lights,  under  an  arch,  with  circle  in  the 
head. 

The  chancel  rises  very  much  towards  the  east,  on 
account  of  the  steepness  of  the  ground.  On  its  north 
side  is  a  vestry.  In  its  north  wall  is  a  plain  flat  arch. 
The  south-east  window  is  of  two  trefoil-headed  lights 
under  an  arch,  with  circle  in  the  head,  and  the  sill 
forms  a  sedile.  The  font  has  a  square  bowl.  The 
porch  is  new.  The  tower  is  of  the  Flemish  sort, 
perhaps  of  Perpendicular  period ;  is  embattled,  with 
square  turret,  also- with  embattlement  rising  high  at 
the  north-east ;  corbel-table  under  the  battleipent ;  has 
neither  stringcourse  nor  buttress.  The  base  slightly 
projects.  The  west  doorway  flat-arched  with  label ; 
the  belfry  windows  square-headed,  of  two  lights,  of 
late  form ;  other  openings  are  slits.  The  tower-arch 
to  the  nave  is  plain  and  pointed. 

The  churchyard  is  highly  romantic,  being  of  great 
extent,  and  the  ground  uneven  and  undulated  in  an 
extraordinary  degree,  some  portions  quite  precipitous, 
and  much  covered  with  trees,  in  some  measure  re- 
calling that  of  Llanfihangel,  near  Aberystwith.  On 
the  north  side  is  the  shaft  of  a  cross,  raised  on  several 
steps. 


136  NOTES  ON  THE  OLDER  OHUItOHES 


JEFFERSTON   (ST.    OSWALD   AND   ST.    GEOFFREY):^ 

June  29, 1867. 

This  church  was  in  course  of  restoration,  just  begun, 
when  visited.  It  consists  of  a  nave  and  chancel, 
north  and  south  transept,  and  small  chapel  south  of 
the  chancel,  western  tower,  and  south  porch.  The 
tower  is  a  characteristic  one  of  the  Flemish  district, 
tapering,  strong  built,  with  battlement  and  corbel- 
table,  and  a  square  turret  at  the  north-east  having 
slit  lights;  no  string  or  buttress;  the  belfry  sinde 
obtuse  lights,  some  mere  slits,  and  west  window.  Tne 
tower  has  the   common   rude  vault   within,   and   a 

{)ointed  arch  to  the  nave.  The  north  transept  is 
arger  than  the  southern,  but  both  low  and  insignifi- 
cant ;  the  arches  to  both  very  rude  and  coarse ;  that 
on  the  north  obtuse  and  misshapen,  that  on  the  south 
so  flat  as  scarcely  to  be  really  an  arch.  The  south 
transept  is  vaulted.  The  chancel-arch  is  a  plain  pointed 
one.  The  chancel  is  entered  by  an  ascent  of  three 
high  steps.  The  east  window,  as  well  as  most  others, 
is  vilely  modernised,  and  on  the  north  of  the  chancel 
are  no  windows.  The  south  chapel  is  divided  from 
the  chancel  by  a  quasi  arch,  flat  and  rude;  in  the 
south  chapel  is  a  debased  square-headed  window.  In 
the  south  transept  are  some  stone  brackets,  and  near 
the  south  door,  internally,  a  benatura.  The  font  has  a 
square  bowl,  scolloped  at  the  base,  on  a  short  cylin- 
drical stem.  The  porch  is  very  large,  and  vaulted, 
has  plain  outer  door,  and  stone  seats.  The  south 
front  has  a  curious  efiect,  the  porch,  transept,  and 
chapel  south  of  the  chancel  all  having  similar  gables 
ranging  together,  the  porch  perhaps  the  largest.  In 
the  churchyard  is  a  cross  entire  on  a  step. 

^  Restoration,  by.  Mr.  Talbot  Bury,  completed  in  1868 :  good  east 
window  pnt  in ;  north  transept  enlarged  to  the  dimensions  of  the 
nave,  from  which  it  is  divided  by  three  pointed  arches  on  cylindri- 
cal pillars,  copied  from  Castlemartin  Chnrch ;  low,  ronnd  arch  intro- 
duced to  divide  the  south  chapel  from  the  south  transept. 


IN  THE  FOUR  WELSH  DIOCESES.  137 

LAWRENNY  (ST.  CARADOC).^ 

June  29, 1867. 

This  is  rather  a  large  church,  and  situated  just  within 
the  grounds  of  the  park.  It  has  a  nave  with  north  and 
south  transepts,  chancel,  and  western  tower.  The  tower 
is  a  fine  one  of  the  kind,  tall,  and  well  proportioned  ; 
has  battlement  and  four  short  pinnacles,  and  corbel- 
table  below  it.  A  square  turret  at  the  north-east 
with  slit  lights,  belfry  windows  of  two  plain  obtuse 
lights.  On  the  west  side  a  square-headed  Perpen- 
dicular square  window  of  three  lights.  The  tower  is 
vaulted  below,  and  opens  to  the  nave  by  a  plain  arch. 
It  has  one  stringcourse,  and  the  base  rather  swells 
out;  there  are  no  buttresses.  The  interior  is  rather 
too  much  modernised,  and  that  done  too  soon ;  there 
are  regular  new  pews,  and  a  new  plaster  ceiling.  The 
transepts  open  to  the  nave  by  plain,  wide,  pointed 
arches.  The  chancel-arch  is  round,  and  very  plain. 
On  the  north  side  is  one  of  the  Pembrokeshire  squint 
passages  from  the  transept  into  the  chancel,  but  the 
entrance  from  the  transept  is  closed.  In  this  is  a 
sepulchral  eflSgy  under  an  arched  recess  crocketed. 
The  effigy  has  been  cross-legged,  but  the  lower  part  is 
terribly  mutilated ;  the  right  hand  on  a  sword.  The 
windows  are  all  modern ;  those  at  the  east  end  and  in 
the  north  transept  are  fair  Decorated.  The  south 
transept  has  a  large  monument  to  the  Barlows.  There 
is  a  stone  bracket  in  the  north  wall  of  the  nave,  and  a 
rude  recess  near  the  north  door.  The  font  has  a  square 
bowl,  of  cushion  shape,  upon  a  cylindrical  stem  and 
square  base. 

Upon  the  east  gable  of  the  nave  is  a  pointed  bell- 
cot,  with  two  open  arches  for  bells. 

*  Restored  chiefly  according  to  the  plans  of  Mr.  Jackson  in  1885. 
Plaster  ceiling  taken  down,  and  timber  roof  substituted,  obstruc- 
tion in  the  squint  from  the  north  transept  remoyed,  and  squint  from 
the  south  transept  found  and  opened.  Sedilia  and  piscina,  in  good 
preservation,  discovered  behind  the  plaster  in  the  chancel,  and 
opened  out.    Also  three  lancet  windows  opened  in  the  chancel. 

(To  be  continued.) 


ON  A  COIN  OF  A  SECOND  CARAUSIUS, 

C«SAR   IN    BRITAIN    IN   THE    FIFTH  CENTURY. 

BT  ABTHUB  J.    EVARS,  ».A.,  F.B.A. 

fJltprinted  from  (A<  Nurnittaatic  CAnmWe,  vol.  vii,  3nJ  Stria,  pp.  181-210,  ty 
kind  ptrmiuion  of  EAa  CotiKil  of  tiu  NuniiTnatie  Soeiajl,  witi  tA«  tanetien  </ 
UtAvUtor.) 


The  remarkable  bronze  coin  of  which  the  engraving 
appears  above  happened  to  strike  my  observation 
amongst  a  lot  of  Roman  and  Romano-barbarous  coins 
found  at  Richborough,  the  famous  Rutupis  or  ButupiEe 
of  the  ancients.  The  obverse  presents  a  head  modelled 
in  a  somewhat  barbarous  fashion  on  that  of  a  fourth- 
century  Emperor,  diademed,  and  with  the  bust  draped 
in  the  paludamentum.  The  legend,  reading  out- 
wards, is : 

DOMINO  CABAVSIO  CES 
(the  AR,  vsi,  and  es  in  ligature).  The  reverse  pre- 
sents a  familiar  bronze  type  of  Constans  or  Constan- 
tiuB  II.  The  Emperor,  holding  phcenix  and  labarum 
standard,  stands  at  the  prow  of  a  vessel,  the  rudder  of 
which  is  held  by  Victory.^  In  the  present  case,  how- 
ever, in  place  of  the  usual  legend  that  accompanies 
this  reverse — fel  .  temp  .  eeparatio — appears  the 
strange  and  unpai-alleled  inscription — 

DOMIN   .  .  .       CONTA  .  .  .       NO. 

The  last  three  letters  of  conta  . . .  are  in  contiguity, 

'  The  Emperor's  lege  are  omitted,  as  bIbo  a  part  of  the  fore  part 
of  the  Tessel,  as  if  to  make  room  for  the  ioBcription  no. 


COIN  OF  A  SECOND  tARAUSIUS.  139 

followed  by  uncertain  traces  of  another,  and  the  no  is 
placed  over  the  fore  part  of  the  vessel ;  in  the  field  to 
the  left  are  apparently  three  pellets.  The  exergual 
hiscription  is  invisible.  The  coin  bears  traces  of  having 
been  washed  with  white  metal,  and  it  weighs  42 J 
grains. 

It  will  be  seen  at  once  that,  though  both  in  its 
obverse  and  reverse  designs  approaching  known  fourth- 
century  types,  the  present  piece  is  not  a  mere  barbar- 
ous imitation  of  a  coin  of  Constans  or  Constantius  II. 
It  presents  us,  on  the  contrary,  with  a  definite  and 
wholly  original  legend  of  its  own.  The  name  of  the 
Csesar  represented  is  clfearly  given  as  Carausius,  but 
the  whole  character  of  the  design  and  the  reverse 
type,  which  only  makes  its  appearance  on  the  imperial 
dies  towards  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century,  abso- 
lutely  prohibit  us  from  attributing  it  to  the  well- 
known  usurper  who  reigned  from  287  to  293,  and 
who,  moreover,  always  claimed  the  title  of  Augustus. 

The  present  oflGicial  style  is  wholly  unexampled  on  a 
Roman  coin.  D  .  N  for  dominvs  noster  becomes,  of 
course,  usual  on  coins  from  Constantine's  time  on- 
wards, and  DOMINOR  .  nostror  .  caess  is  also  frequent, 
but  the  title  domino,  standing  alone  without  qualify- 
ing pronoun,  as  it  appears  on  this  coin,  is  as  excep- 
tional a  phenomenon  as  the  legend  on  the  remarkable 
piece  of  an  earlier  date,  in  which  the  titles  deo  et 
DOMINO  are  coupled  with  tKe  name  of  Aurelian.* 

The  coNTA  .  .  of  the  reverse  is  enigmatic.  The 
Romano-British  tendency,  of  which  other  examples 
will  be  given,  to  omit  unaccented  is  in  certain  posi- 
tions, would  make  comt  .  .  (which,  owing  to  the  liga- 
ture of  the  N  and  t,  is  a  possible  version  of  the  legend) 
a  thoroughly  legitimate  abbreviation  for  comit  .  .  in 
the  same  way  as  on  a  Roman  inscription  found  in 
Britain  we  find  MiLTum  for  MiLiTum.  But  a  numis- 
matic reference  to  a  comes  avgvsti  other  than  a  god 

^  DEO  GT  DOMINO  NATO  AVRELIANO  AYQ. 


140  COIlT  OP  A  SECOND  CARAUSroS. 

does  not  exist,  and  we  can  hardly  venture  to  look  for 
it  even  on  so  exceptional  a  piece  as  the  present.  I 
will  leave  it,  therefore,  for  others  to  detect  upon  our 
coin  the  sentinel  form  of  a  Comes  Littoris  Saxonici 
looking  forth  from  the  prow  of  his  galley  in  expecta- 
tion of  the  Saxon  pirate,  and  will  content  myself  with 
the  suggestion  that  either  an  s  has  been  carelessly 
omitted,  in  which  case  conta  .  .  stands  for  consta,  or 
that  the  x-like  crossing  of  the  second  and  third  stroke 
of  the  N  indicates  the  presence  of  an  x.  According  to 
the  analogy  of  late  Romano-British  inscriptions,  an  x 
may  stand  for  an  s,  and  we  should  have  here  oonxta  . . 
=  CONSTA,  as  on  a  Romano-British  monument  we  find 
CELEXTi  for  CELESTi.^  The  effaced  traces  of  letters 
which  follow  I  venture  to  read  nti  in  ligature,  and  if 
the  NO  above  the  prow  of  the  vessel,  which  evidently 
forms  the  continuation  of  the  legend,  be  joined  on  to 
the  rest,  we  get  the  form  conxta[nti]no  for  Constan- 
tino. 

The  prototype  of  the  reverse  design  of  our  coin, 
representing  the  Emperor  standing  on  the  prow  of  a 
galley  steered  by  Victory,  and  holding  the  phoenix 
and  labarum  standard,  is  one  of  the  commonest  of  the 
fourth-century  imperial  types,  and  its  date  can  be 
fixed  within  certain  limits.  The  issue  of  the  class  of 
coins  to  which  it  belongs  is  conterminous  with  the 
last  period  of  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Constans,  and 
the  contemporary  portion  of  that  of  Constantius  II. 
It  is  not  found  on  the  coins  of  Constantino  the  younger, 
who  met  his  death  in  340  a.d.  On  the  other  hand,  at 
the  moment  of  Constans'  murder,  and  the  consequent 
accession  of  Magnentius  in  350,  it  seems  to  have  been 
already  superseded  by  the  allied  type  on  which  the 
phoenix  is  replaced  by  a  globe  and  Victory.  On  the 
coins  of  Magnentius,  as  on  those  of  Constantius  Gallus, 
who  was  associated  by  Constantius  II  in  351,  only 
this  later  variety  appears. 

^  Insrriptiones  Britannioe  ChristiancB,  128.     Similarly  on  African 
insoriptions,  hilex  for  mileS;  XAKc(ti8simo)  for  SANc(tis8imo)  ;  on 
^^'an  XANTissiMvs,  etc. 


COIN  OP  A  SECOND  CARAUSIUS.  141 

We  are  thus  enabled  to  establish  a  terminus  a  quo 
in  two  directions  for  the  period  during  which  the 
class  of  coins  that  supplies  the  prototype  of  the  present 
piece  was  issued  from  the  imperial  mints.  Its  emission 
.cannot  well  have  been  earlier  than  340  or  later  than 
350 '  A.D.  But  there  seem  to  me  to  be  sufficient 
grounds  for  fixing  the  date  of  this  type  within  still 
narrower  limits.  Evidently  it  records  a  maritime  expe- 
dition ;  and  in  the  case  of  the  Emperor  Constans  this 
maritime  expedition  is  not  far  to  seek.  In  other 
words,  it  must  refer  to  Constans'  passage  to  Britain  in 
343,  in  answer  to  the  appeal  of  the  hard-pressed  Pro- 
vincials— one  of  the  most  important  episodes  in  his 
reign,  as  may  be  gathered  from  the  reference  to  it  in 
the  later  books  of  Ammianus  Marcellinus  ;^  though, 
alas  1  a  full  account  of  it,  recorded  in  an  earlier  book 
of  the  same  author,  together  with  his  notice  of  British 
geography,  has  perished.  The  connection  of  the  present 
type  with  this  British  expedition  is  rendered  still 
more  probable  by  its  close  analogy  with  a  more  elabo- 
rate composition  on  a  contorniate  medal  of  the  same 
Emperor,  which  was  certainly  commemorative  of  that 
event.  On  the  reverse  of  this  medal  the  Emperor 
stands  on  a  galley,  in  the  attitude  of  a  champion, 
armed  with  spear  and  shield.  Behind  him  are  two 
standards,  and  the  prow  is  headed  by  a  Victory  hold- 
ing a  wreath.  A  nymph  directs  the  course  of  the 
galley,  and  behind  is  a  tower,  explained  by  the  in- 
scription BONONiA  OCEANEN  .  — Bouonia  Oceanensis^  as 
Boulogne-sur-Mer  seems  to  have  been  known,  to  dis- 
tinguish it  from  its  namesake  of  the  ^Emilia.  Bononia 
was  the  natural  crossing-point  for  Britain ;  and  accord- 
ingly we  find  a  law  of  Constans  in  the  Theodosian 
Code,  dated  from  that  city  in  January  343.*  By  the 
end  of  June,  in  the  same  year,  as  we  know  from  the 

*  Lib.  XX,  1.  1 ;  xxvii,  8,  4. 

*  Cod.  Tlieod.,  vol.  iv,  p.  117.     Gothofred  rightly  corrects  Con- 
stantins  into  Constans. 


142  COIN  OF  A  SECOND  CARAUSIUS. 

same  source,  Constans  was  back  again  at  Trier. ^  Assum- 
ing this  maritime  expedition  of  Constans  to  have 
give  occasion  to  the  issue  of  the  above  class  of  coins, 
their  date  of  emission  is  further  limited  between  the 
years  343  and  350. 

There  can,  however,  I  venture  to  think,  be  little 
doubt  that  the  coin  with  which  we  are  at  present  con- 
cerned belongs  to  a  considerably  later  date  than  its 
prototype.  It  is,  indeed,  notorious  that  the  coins  of 
Constantine  and  his  family,  being  the  commonest  of  the 
fourth-century  issues,  continued,  especially  in  Britain, 
where  they  were  not  so  abundantly  succeeded  by  the 
issues  of  later  Emperors,  to  be  current  down  to  the 
sixth  and  seventh  centuries.  It  is  to  imitations  of 
these  types,  indeed,  that  we  owe  our  earliest  English 
coinage  ;^  and  though  the  Sceatta  series  hardly  dates 
from  an  earlier  period  than  the  seventh  century,  there 
are  not  wanting  earlier  examples  of  more  or  less  exact 
reproductions  of  fourth-century  Roman  coins  in  this 
country  and  elsewhere.  These  Constantinian  types 
formed  the  basis  of  a  long  series  of  Northern  bracteates 
— Scandinavian,  Frisian,  and  Anglo-Saxon — as  well  as 
of  some  sixth-century  Merovingian  coinages,  and  a 
noteworthy  example  of  a  revival  of  the  same  kind  is 
to  be  found  in  the  gold  solidus,  supposed  to  date  from 
about  the  year  600,^  presenting  on  the  obverse  the 
head  and  blundered  superscription  of  a  coin  of  Hono- 
rius,  and  on  the  reverse  the  well-known  type  of  the 
Emperor  holding  the  labarum  and  the  globe,  surmounted 
by  Victory,  and  setting  his  foot  upon  a  captive,  here 
associated  with  a  Runic  inscription.     It  is  a  reversion 

^  Cf.  Clinton,  Fasti  Bprnani,  ad  ann. 

^  I  am  glad  to  see  that  Mr.  C.  F.  Keary,  in  his  Catalogue  of  Eng- 
lish Coins,  has  renounced  his  former  opinion  {Num.  Chron,,  1879, 
p.  441)  that  the  wolf  and  twins  type  was  derived  from  the  rare  de- 
narius of  Carausius,  and  in  this  case,  as  in  that  of  the  ''  Standard" 
type,  accepts  a  Constantinian  origin. 

^  See  Dr.  Wimmer's  remarks  in  Keary's  Catalogue  of  English 
Coins,  p.  Ixxxiy  et  seqq. 


COIN  0^  A  SECOND  CARAUSIUS.  143 

of  this  sort  to  an  earlier  model,  but  by  a  Romano- 
British  instead  of  a  half-Romanised  Teutonic  artist, 
that  makes  itself  apparent  on  the  present  coin.  There 
are  peculiarities  of  fabric  which  remove  it  from  the 
barbarous  contemporary  counterfeits  of  the  coins  of 
Constans  and  Constantius.  Such  contemporary  imita- 
tions present  us  with  blundered  copies  of  the  legends 
on  the  genuine  imperial  coins.  Here,  on  the  contrary, 
we  have  a  wholly  original  style  and  independent  in- 
scription, which,  though  rustic  in  its  Latinity  and 
orthography,  has  a  deliberate  meaning  of  its  own,  and 
is  thus  analogous  to  the  Runic  legend  on  the  piece  of 
Teutonic  fabric.  More  than  this,  as  I  hope  to  demon- 
strate, the  letters  and  their  peculiar  ligatures,  while 
deviating  from  fourth-century  practice,  show  a  re- 
markable affinity  to  certain  forms  that  occur  on  some 
of  the  late  Roman  Christian  monuments  of  Britain. 

That  the  coin  itself  was  struck  in  our  island  may  be 
safely  assumed,  both  from  the  place  where  it  was 
found,  and  from  the  name  of  Carausius  that  it  bears 
upon  its  obverse.  Whatever  the  original  extraction 
of  Carausius,  there  can  be  no.  doubt  that  the  name  of 
the  first  asserter  of  Britain's  maritime  dominion  struck 
a  deep  root  in  her  soil.*     A  curious  manifestation  of 

^  Nennins,  it  is  to  be  observed,  gives  great  prominence  to  Caraa- 
sins  in  his  sketch  of  Roman  Britain.  He  makes  him  rebuild  Seve- 
rns'  Wall, — **Carantias  postea  imperator  resedifioavit  (mnnim)  et 

septem  eastellis  mnnivit"  (Hist,  Brit,  o,  zix).     ''Carantias  

transverberavit  omnes  regalos  Britonam  et  vindicavit  valde  Se va- 
rum ab  illis  et  purpuram  Britannisd  occupavit*'  (c.  xx).  Professor 
Rhys  informs  me  that  Carausius,  under  the  late  form  of  Ceris,  has 
given  his  name  to  a  pool  in  the  Menai  Straits  :  "  Quartum  miracu- 
lum  est  lapis  qui  ambulat  in  nocturnis  temporibus  super  vallem 
Citheinn,  et  projectus  est  olim  in  voragine  Gereuus,  qui  est  in  medio 
pelagi  quod  vocatur  Mene,  et  in  crastino  super  ripam  supradictee 
vallis  inventus  est  sine  dnbio"  (San-Marte's  Nennitis  and  Gildas, 
§  75,  p.  79).  Here  we  have  PwU  Ceris  called  Vorago  Gereuus;  and 
the  form  Cereuits  bridges  over  the  gap  between  Ceris  and  Oarau- 
situ.  But  the  phonologj  of  the  change  offers  considerable  difficulties. 
We  should  probably  have  to  treat  Carausius  as  representing  a  form, 
Cara-iHsius.  The  historical  question  which  the  fixing  of  the  name 
Carausius  in  North  Wales  raises  is  still  more  difficult  and  interest- 


144  COIN  OP  A  SECOND  CARAUSIUS. 

this  is  seen  in  a  gravestone  found  at  Penmachno,  in 
Caernarvonshire,  recording  in  barbarous  Latin  the 
sepulture  of  a  later  and  Christian  Carausius  beneath  a 
cairn.  It  is  headed  by  the  Christian  monogram,  and 
the  inscription,  of  which  a  reproduction  is  given  below, 
reads,  caravsivs  hic  iacit  in  hoc  congeries  lapidvm. 
It  belongs  to  an  interesting  class  of  Romano-British 
monuments,  dating  from  the  period  when  the  last  of 
the  Roman  legions  had  been  recalled  from  our  shores, 
but  representing  still  the  continuity  of  the  Roman  as 
distinguished  from  the  more  purely  Celtic  population 
of  Britain.  It  is  included  by  Dr.  Hubner^  in  his 
"  First  Period".  Here,  as  in  other  instances,  we  have 
a  name  of  Roman  imperial  association,  and  the  appear- 
ance of  the  name  of  Carausius  on  this  stone  may  be 
set  beside  that  of  Severus,  Victorinus,  Martinus,  the 
public-spirited  Pro-Prsefect,  who  was  driven  to  commit 
suicide  by  the  Inquisitor  of  Constantius  II,  and  Victor, 
the  son  and  associate  of  Magnus  Maximus,  all  of  them 
Emperors  or  Governors  in  a  special  way  connected 
with  Britain,  whose  names  reappear  on  titnli  of  the 
same  class,'  and  seem  to  indicate  a  distinct  Roman 
national  tradition,  as  opposed  to  that  more  purely 
British  tradition  exemplified  by  names  like  Boduoc  or 
Conbellinus.  The  direct  connection  with  Rome  had 
been  cut  off,  but  some  part  of  our  soil,  at  least,  re- 
mained "Romania.'** 

A  comparison  of  the  lettering  and  arrangement  of 

tag.  What,  for  instance,  if  the  Emperor  Garansins  was,  afler  all, 
not  one  of  the  Continental  Menapii,  but  of  the  Manapii,  whom  Pto- 
lemy locates  in  the  east  of  Ireland  P  This  would  help  to  settle  a 
very  vexed  question  in  the  early  history  of  Britain,  namely  the  time 
and  the  nature  of  the  Irish  conquests  in  Wales  and  Dumnonia.  The 
subject  calls  for  treatment  at  the  hands  of  our  historians. 

^  Inseriptiones  Britannioe  Christianasy  p.  xx.  Dr.  Hiibner  places 
it  amongst  those  written  more  Romano  rather  than  more  Britannico. 

*  Amongst  other  purely  Roman  names  that  appear  on  these  late 
monnments  may  be  mentioned  Yitalis,  Yitalianus,  Etemus,  Etema- 
lis,  Severinus,  Secundus,  Coelestis  (Celexti),  luvenalis  (Icvenalis 
probably =Juvenalis),  Satuminus,  Nobilis,  Avitus,  Justinianus,  Vi- 
ventius,  Majorius,  Salvianus,  Pompeius  (Punpeius),  and  Paulinus. 

^  The  passage  in  Gildas  (2)e  Excidio  Britanni(e,  c.  v)  in  which  he 


COIN  OF  A  SECOND  CARAUSIUS.  145 

the  inscription  on  the  monument  of  this  Christian 
Oarausius  suggests  some  very  remarkable  parallels 
with  the  style  of  the  legends  on  the  coin  of  our  Oarau- 
sius Caesar. 

Comparing  this  with  an  enlarged  facsimile  of  the 
obverse  and  reverse  legend  of  the  present  coin — 

DOMIKO  CKJ-AVZIOCR 

DOMrN[6|CO/iaA^NO 

we  note — 

1.  The  same  tendency  to  ligature — that  of  the  vs 
and  ES  of  the  two  examples  presenting  analogies  of  the 
most  striking  kind.  Ligatures  like  the  above  are 
wholly  absent  from  the  imperial  series  of  the  first  four 
centuries  of  our  era.  On  the  other  hand,  something 
analogous  is  occasionally  found  on  coins  struck  by 
Gallic  cities  in  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries,  and  the 
practice  fits  in  with  the  monogrammatic  tendency  of 
those  times.  It  may  be  noticed  in  this  connection 
that  the  peculiar  G  of  the  monument  first  appears,  so 
far  as  I  am  aware,  on  the  imperial  coinage  in  the 
reign  of  Theodosius  TI,  408-450  a.d.^  It  is  adopted 
in  the  monogrammatic  signature  of  the  Burgundian 

sums  up  the  effects  of  Roman  rule  in  Britain  in  the  words,  "  ita  ut 
non  Britannia  sed  Romania  insula  censeretur",  derives  peculiar  inte- 
rest from  the  parallels  that  it  recalls  in  other  parts  of  the  Roman 
empire.  It  was  only  by  the  fourth  and  fifth  century  that  the  process 
of  Romanisation  in  the  provinces  had  become  sufficiently  complete, 
and  the  contrast  with  aggressive  barbarism  sufficiently  strong,  to 
fully  evoke  the  national  feeling,  "  Quod  cuncti  gens  una  sumus",  of 
which  the  term  '*  Romania"  is  the  territorial  expression.  Had  the 
English  conquest  been  less  thoroughgoing,  the  name  might  have 
lived  on  here,  beyond  the  Channel,  as  it  has  lived  on  to  this  day 
beyond  the  Danube.  Oil  das  himself  records  the  preservation  of  the 
Roman  name  by  Britain  after  the  separation  from  the  rest  of  the 
empire,  though  he  regrets  the  loss  of  Roman  customs  and  laws, — 
"  Insula  nomen  Romannm  neo  tam  mores  legemque  tenens  quin 
potius  abjiciens"  (c.  xxvi). 

^  Sabatier,  Monnaies  Byzantines,  PL  Y,  11.    The  L  of  the  Carau- 
sian  inscription  apparently  first  occurs  on  coins  of  Leo  I,  457-474. 


146 


COIN  OP  A  SECOND  CARAUSIUS. 


King  Gondebald  on  coins  struck  by  him  in  the  name 
of  Anastasius,  from  491  onwards.* 


GMW5l\if 
HO  AC  IT, 

INHOCODN 

SERIES  UK 
PIDVM 


fiepnlobxml  Slab  at  Penmaobno,  Caemaryonsbire.    Reduced  to  one-quarter  diam.(8). 

*  See  Annuaire  de  Numismatique,  vol.  i  (1886),  PL  VI,  1-6. 

*  The  above  copy  of  the  inscription  was  executed  by  me  from  the 
stone  (at  present  in  Penmachno  Church),  carefully  collated  since 
with  a  paper  cast  made  at  the  same  time.  The  ligatures  are  not 
accurately  rendered  in  Inscn'pt,  Brit.  Christ,,  136. 


COIN  OF  A  SECOND  CARAUSIUS.  147 

2.  The  s  of  tlie  inscription,  though  not  reversed,  as 
those  of  the  coin,  has  an  almost  identical  form,  con- 
sisting of  a  somewhat  angular  bend  at  top.  and  a  hori- 
zontal prolongation  of  the  lower  curve.  This  form  is 
characteristic  of  a  whole  series  of  Romano-British  in- 
scriptions belonging  approximately  to  the  same  period. 

3.  The  form  of  the  first  R  in  the  inscription  and  of 
that  on  the  coin  approximates  to  a  characteristic  (i  of 
the  same  series  of  monuments,  itself  the  precursor  of 
the  Saxon  Jl.  This  form  occurs  on  coins  of  Constan- 
tine  III. 

4.  Finally,  we  find  the  language  itself,  in  both 
cases,  presenting  characteristics  rather  Romance  than 
Koman.  The  in  hoc  congeries  of  the  stone  belonors 
to  a  time  when  the  last  letter  of  the  case-ending  had 
been  dropped  in  pronunciation,  and  when  letters  were 
accordingly  set  on  by  would-be  classical  scribes  in  a 
purely  arbitrary  fashion,  the  spoken  language  afford- 
ing them  no  guide,  and  grammars  not  being  forth- 
coming. In  the  case  of  the  coin  we  have  no  added 
letter,  but  the  form  points  to  the  Romance  style.  It 
is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  the  domino  cauavsio 
CES,  etc.,  is  to  be  taken  in  ita  literal  grammatical 
sense  as  a  dedicatory  form  in  the  dative.  From 
Diocletian's  time  onwards,  at  any  rate,  where  .such 
formulso  are  used  on  coins,  they  are  generally  accom- 
panied by  Divo,  and  are  literal  dedications  to  the 
deified  departed,  as  Divo  constantio  pio  principi,  on 
the  memorial  coins  of  Constantius  Chlorus.  Parallels 
may  indeed  be  found  to  this  dedicatory  style  on  the 
coins  of  living  sovereigns,  and  without  the  divo,  but 
they  are  at  least  unusual,  and  in  the  present  case  it  is 
possible  to  find  a  simpler  explanation.  In  other  words, 
this  inscription  belongs  to  a  time  when  the  nomina- 
tive case-ending  was  being  generally  dropped,  and  all 
nouns,  save  in  exceptional  instances,  were  being  re- 
duced to  a  common  termination.  In  this  respect  it 
finds  numerous  analogies  in  other  inscriptions  belong- 
ing to  the  same  class  as  the  would-be  classical  titulus 

5th   8BIt.,  VOL.  V.  1 1 


148  COIN  OF  A  SECOND  CARAUSIUS. 

with  which  we  are  dealing.  On  another  monument, 
also  belonging  to  Dr.  Hiibner's  **  First  Period'',  and 
found  at  the  same  place,  Penmachno/  '*cive"  and 
**  CONSOBRINO''  are  used  as  nominatives.  In  the  same 
way  we  find,  on  earlier  Roman  inscriptions  found  in 
Britain,  forms  like  "voto  solvit  libens,"*  and  on  a 
later  British  example,  "singno  crvcis  in  illam  eingsi."^ 
That  the  Carausius  of  the  inscription  is  the  same 
personage  as  the  Carausius  Caesar  of  the  coin,  I  shall 
neither  affirm  nor  deny.  But  there  seems  nothing  to 
exclude  the  possibility,  or  even  probability,  of  such  an 
identification.  In  both  cases  we  find  the  name  asso- 
ciated with  the  Christian  monogram,  though  that  on 
the  labarum  held  by  the  standing  Emperor  on  the 
reverse  of  the  coin  has  been  much  efiaced.  The  co- 
incidences observable  in  the  ligatures  and  some  of  the 
letter-forms  are,  as  already  shown,  of  so  striking  a 
kind,  as  to  point  to  a  close  correspondence  of  date. 
That  no  imperial  title  should  appear  on  the  stone 
does  not  count  for  much.  A  Carausius  Caesar  who 
had  reigned  at  Richborough  and  commanded  on  the 
Saxon  shore  would  hardly  have  found  his  way  to 
this  bleak  Caernarvonshire  resting-place,  beneath  the 
shadow  of  Snowdon,  otherwise  than  as  a  fugitive  who 
had  already  exchanged  his  purple  for  a  cassock.  The 
practice  of  erecting  inscribed  monuments  in  Britain  in 
the  fifth  century  was  not  so  common  as  to  lead  us  to 
suppose  that  those  commemorated  were  wholly  obscure 
personages.  On  the  contrary,  we  find  in  several  cases 
that  those  thus  distinguished  were  persons  of  mark — 
civic  and  military  officers,  or  at  least  their  kinsmen, 
while  the  names,  as  already  noticed,  point  in  several 

*  Hiibner,  Insc.  Brit  Christ,  No.  135.  cantiori  hic  iacit  vene- 
DOTis  GIVE  FViT  CONBOBRINO  ma(g)li  magistrati.  I  have  carefally 
examined  the  stone,  and  find  that  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that 
GIVES  or  GONSOBKINOS  was  the  original  reading.  The  inscription 
seems  to  be  metrical,  answering  to  the  rhythm  of  '*  Mihi  est  pi-o- 
positnm  in  tabema  mori." 

>  C.  L  L.,  vii,  769.     Of  the  year  258  a.d. 

*  Insc.  Brit,  Christ,  94. 


COIN  OF  A  SECOND  CARAUSIUS.  149 

caaes  to  the  existence  of  family  traditions  linking  their 
bearers  to  past  Emperors  or  Governors  connected  with 
Britain.  The  mention  of  a  cairn,  ^^ congeries  lapidum^" 
contained  in  the  inscription  itself,  certainly  conveys 
the  impression  that  the  Carausius  interred  beneath  it 
was  not  unknown  in  the  annals  of  the  time.  The  sig- 
nificance of  cairns  in  the  Britain  of  a  slightly  later 
date  is  shown  by  the  legendary  account  preserved  by 
Nennius/  of  the  cairn — "  congestus  lapidum" — with  a 
monument  at  top  erected  by  Arthur  in  honour  of  his 
dog  Cabal,  and  impressed  with  the  footprint  of  that 
marvellous  hound.  So,  too,  the  traditional  monument 
of  Horsa,*  at  Horsted,  in  Kent,  which  is  already  men- 
tioned by  Bseda  (dr.  731),  was  represented  in  iJie  last 
century  by  "  a  quantity  of  flint  stones".*  The  usage 
of  the  times  might  provide  both  the  invader  and  the 
defender  of  the  Saxon  shore  with  the  same  form  of 
monument. 

So  far,  indeed,  as  the  present  argument  is  con- 
cerned, it  is  not  by  any  means  necessary  to  identify 
the  Carausius  on  our  coin  with  the  person  of  the  same 
name  referred  to  on  the  sepulchral  stone.  All  that  I 
vdsh  to  insist  on  is,  that  whether  we  regard  the  form 
of  the  letters,  the  abnormal  style  of  the  legend  and 
title,  or  the  character  of  the  legend,  a  striking  analogy 
is  observable  between  the  present  coin  and  the  class 
of  Romano-British  monuments  to  which  the  titulus 
belongs.  The  inference  that  we  are  entitled  to  draw 
from  these  resemblances  is  that,  between  the  coin  and 

^  Hist,  c.  Ixzix.  "  Est  alind  mirabile  in  regione  quffi  dicitnr  Baelt. 
Est  ibi  cnmnlns  lapidnm,  et  nnns  lapis  saperpositas  super  conges- 
tarn  cnm  vestigio  canis  in  eo.  Quando  venatns  est  porcam  Troit 
impressit  Cabal,  qni  erat  canis  Artnri  militis,  vestiginm  in  lapide. 
Et  Artnr  postea  congregavit  congestnm  lapidnm  snb  lapide  in  quo 
erat  vestigium  canis  sui ;  et  vocatur  Camcabal.  Et  veniunt  homi- 
nes et  toUunt  lapidem  in  manibus  snis  per  spatium  diei  et  noctis  et 
in  crastino  invenitnr  super  congestnm  soum.'' 

*  Hist.  Ecd.,  i,  0.  XY.  "  Horsa  postea  occisus  in  bello  a  Brittoni- 
bus,  hactenus  in  orientalibus  Cantiaa  partibus  monumentum  habet 
suo  nomine  insigne." 

»  Archosohgia,  ii  (1773),  p.  110. 

11» 


150  COIN  OF  A  SECOND  CARAUSIUS. 

the  earliest  monuments  of  the  class  referred  to,  there 
is  a  certain  approximation  of  date.  And  that  a  coin, 
ex  hypothesi  struck  in  Britain,  should  present  such 
analogies  with  contemporary  monuments,  is  rendered 
the  more  probable  by  the  parallel  supplied  by  the  coins 
of  the  earlier  Carausius,  who  reigned  in  Britain  at  the  end 
of  the  third  century.  As  this  subject  has  not  received 
the  attention  it  deserves,  I  may  here  refer  to  a  few  of 
the  cases  I  have  collected,  in  which  the  legends  on  the 
coins  of  Carausius  show  striking  points  of  contact  with 
the  provincial  orthography,  as  traceable  on  the  Koman 
monuments  of  Britain. 


OoiiiB  of  CaxETiaiiu  stnick  in  Britain.        Roman  Inscriptions  found  in  Britain. 

DiNAB  Avo  (=Dian«)   .        .{^ABt^^i 

.FELICT  (=FELICIT[as])  .   ^  MILTS  (=Militis) 

_,-.  .       ^  J  J  PEOVDENTiA  (=ProvideDtia)  J  regmen  (=Regiinen) 
Jlilision  ot  I  <      j^j^^  PRovDNTiA  '     .    •  I  MARTIMA  (=Maritima) 

^  VBERTA  (=Uberitas)     .         .  ^  decmi  (^Decimi),  etc. 

>.  GLEMES  (=Clemens) 

Elision  of  H     OBXKS  (=,OrienB)  .        •    ^1^  (tgo^^--^ 

^  LIBE9  (=Liben8),  etc. 

{AEQVES  (=EqTie8) 
HORTAESi(  -  Horte(n)8ii) 
SOGAERE  (=Socer8B) 
OLTMPAE  (=  Olympe 

[Voc]),  etc. 

"  te'    }  ™>-  (=V-toria)    .        .  {  --«-«'  (=  ^of-- 

p  for  B        .     PVPLica  (=Pnblica)      .        .  0P8EQyENs(=0bseqnen8) 
E  for  AE  in    )  ^^„_  ,     p^^„\  f  ALB  (= AIsb) 


^  Cf.  BEATA  TRANQLiTAS  on  the  Constantinian  coins  from  the  Lon- 
don mint. 

•  For  analogous  diphthongising  of  vowel  cf.  also  G0NSTAYNT(=Con. 
8tant[ia]).     So  on  a  coin  of  Tetricus,  probably  stmck  in  Britain, 

PAIX  AYOa. 

*  Cf.  YEREGTVNVS  for  Yerecnndns,  scvltor  for  Scnlptor. 


COIN  OF  A  SECOND  CARAU8IUS.  151 

G  ins  of  OuratuluB  struck  in  Britain.  Bonum  Inacriptions  fonnd  in  Britian. 

.  KPICTATB  TENi  (=Expectate)  (  !^'ti;n^sLer8te8^ 
*     =       „  3  IXPICTATI4  MiL(=Bxpectatio)  j  STi'BBSTis  (— baperstcs; 

J  DBSTER  (=Dexter) 
s  for  X        .    PAS^  («»Pax)        .        .         ,  |  alb8An[dbb]    (^  Alex- 

'  ander)* 

Final  s  (  toeSa  }  (^Uberitas)  j  maceihv  (^Mwrinufi) 

omitted  .  j  FBLiciTA  (=Felicitaa)  )  ^*™™'  (=Valenti- 

'  CARAV8IV  AVG  (=«CarauBiuB)    (  ^^ 

c  for  Q        .     BCYiTAS  [^^JElquitss)    .        «     egvbstbb  ("^Eqnester). 

In  addition  to  these  may  be  mentioned  snggestive  forms  like  yib- 

TYTE  AVG,  AG  for  AYGasti,  FIDEM  MILITYM,  YLTORA  AYG,  YENBBA  AYG. 

These  and  other  legends  existing  on  the  coins  of 
Carausius  minted  in  Britain  are  generally  ascribed  to 
the  mere  haphazard  blundering  of  barbarous  engravers. 
But  apart  from  the  fact  that  many  of  the  most  charac- 
teristic forms  occur  on  coins  that  are  not  otherwise  of 
barbarous  fabric,  it  will  be  seen,  I  think,  from  the 
above  comparative  table,  that  there  is  a  certain  method 
in  these  mis-spellings.  It  is  possible  that,  in  indi- 
vidual instances,  this  is  due  to  a  certain  prevalent 
fashion  in  orthography,  and  to  a  mere  widespread 
mode  without  rhyme  or  reason  in  itself,  but  charac- 
teristic of  a  certain  epoch.  But  it  must  in  any  case 
be  admitted  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  forms 
common  to  these  Romano- British  coins  and  monu- 
ments are  due  to  the  influence  of  the  provincial  dia- 
lect, and  exhibit  undoubted  characteristics  of  incipient 
Romance  pronunciation  and  Romance  grammatical  sim- 
plification. 

As  the  coins  of  this  earlier  and  better  known  Carau- 
sius stand   to   the   earlier   epigraphic   monuments   of 

^  This  form  also  occurs  on  coins  of  Tetricas  struck  in  Britain. 

'  Compare,  on  late  Spanish  inscriptions,  ausiliuniy  es  for  ex,  and 
apparently  felis  for  felix.  So  on  African  inscriptions  we  find  cou^ 
jus  for  conjtix,  visit=^vixit,  etc.  Dr.  Hiibner  suggests  that  OBjaoYS 
(Insc,  Brit.  Christ,,  115)  stands  for  obdovix. 


152  COIN  OF  A  SECOND  OARAUSXDS, 

Koman  Britain,  so  the  present  coin  stands  to  that 
later  Romano-British  series,  which  represents  the  sur- 
vival of  the  Roman  language  and  traditions  in  this 
country  at  a  time  when  the  official  ties  with  what  sur- 
vived of  the  empire  over  sea  were  already  cut  away. 

The  general  geographical  distribution  of  this  latter 
class  of  inscription  seems  to  refer  their  origin  to  a 
period  when  a  large  part  of  South-Eastem  Britain  was 
already  in  Saxon  hands.  In  other  words,  the  bulk  of 
them  can  hardly  be  earlier  than  the  middle  of  the  fifth 
century.  Many,  no  doubt,  date  from  the  sixth  cen- 
tury ;  one  commemorates  a  certain  Paulinus,  who  has 
been  identified  with  a  bishop  who  attended  a  provin- 
cial synod  shortly  before  569.^  On  the  other  hand, 
seventh-century  inscriptions,  like  the  dedication  of  the 
Basilica  at  Jarrow  by  King  Egfrith  in  685,  show 
forms  of  letters  which  are  of  a  distinctly  later  character* 
than  those  on  the  more  purely  Roman  class  of  monu- 
ment with  which  we  are  dealing. 

Admitting,  however,  that  the  great  majority  of  these 
inscriptions  range  from  the  middle  of  the  fifth  to  the 
end  of  the  sixth  or  the  first  half  of  the  seventh  century, 
there  is  a  piece  of  strong,  though  hitherto  neglected, 
evidence,  which  tends  to  show  that  some  at  least 
belong  to  a  somewhat  earlier  date.  In  1774,  a  very 
interesting  inscription  was  found  at  Ravenhill,  near 
Whitby,  which  records  the  building  of  a  castrum  by  a 
certain  Justinian  us,  who  seems  to  have  borne  the  title 
of  Prsepositus  Militum.  It  is  written  in  a  character 
which  links  it  on  to  other  inscriptions  of  the  present 
class,  and  shows,  for  example,  much  the  same  form  of 
s  as  that  on  our  coin,  and  a  peculiar  ligature  of  c  and  i, 
which  presents  a  close  analogy  to  that  of  the  CO  on  the 
Carausian  monument.     Dr.  Hiibner  has  included  it  in 


*  Lisc,  Brit  Chrutf  82,  where  Dr.  Hiibner  refers  to  Rees'  Lives 
of  the  WelshSainiSy  p.  188. 

■  Inec,  Brit.  Christ,  198,  The  late  forms  of  the  o,  E  and  c,  are 
specially  to  be  noted. 


COIN  OF  A  SECOND  CARAUSIUS.  153 

his  Inscriptiones  BritannicB  GhristiancB,^  and  justly 
remarks  that  the  form  of  the  letters  brings  it  down  to 
the  fifth  or  sixth  century.'  A  Roman  military  officer 
ordering  the  construction  of  a  castrum  in  Britain  at  so 
late  a  date  as  that  indicated  by  the  inscription  in 
question  is  a  striking  figure,  and  we  might  even  ex- 
pect to  find  some  historic  notice  of  such  a  personage. 
And  as  a  matter  of  fact  we  do  find  a  reference  in 
Zosimus  (and  as  I  venture  to  think  in  Olympioddros 
also)  to  a  high  Roman  officer  of  the  name  of  Justinian  us, 
who  held  a  post  in  Britain  in  the  early  part  of  the 
fifth  century. 

Zosimus,  after  relating  the  rapid  succession  of  Marcus 
and  Gratianus,  and  the  final  elevation  of  Constantine 
by  the  Roman  soldiery  in  Britain,  whom  the  progress 
of  the  barbarians  beyond  the  Channel  and  the  apathy 
of  Honorius  had  stirred  to  the  self-defensive  choice  of 
a  warlike  Emperor,  proceeds  to  give  an  account  of 
Constantine  Ill's  Gallic  expedition.  He  first  sent 
over  two  of  his  officers,  Justinianus  and  Nevigastes, 
whom  he  placed  in  command  of  the  Gallic  ("Celtic") 
forces,  and  then  crossed  over  himself  to  Boulogne. 
As  Constantine  himself  was  raised  to  the  empire  in 
Britain,  and  the  whole  jpronwncmiwen^o  was  originally 
confined  to  the  British  soldiery,  we  must  suppose  that 
Justinianus  and  his  colleagues  had  previously  enjoyed 
high  commands  in  the  island,  and  were  personages 
whom  it  was  necessary  for  Constantine  to  conciliate  to 
his  interest.  The  Yorkshire  inscription  seems  to  indi- 
cate the  whereabouts  of  Justinian's  British  command; 
and,  if  the  identification  which  I  have  suggested  be 

*  No.  185.  According  to  Dr.  Hiibner's  version  it  reads  ivstini- 
Awvs  p[r8e]p[o8itus]  vindicunvs  M[agister]  k\W]mT^B.Vf  {ior  arhitrio ?) 
PR[8Bpo8iti]  M[ilitum]  ?  castrvm  fecit  A[nn]o....  For  M  arbitebiv, 
the  possible  alternative,  maoisteriv,  is  suggested.  Mommsen  com* 
pares  C.  L  L.,  iii,  3370,  PL[avias]  igvinvs  ex  p[r80]p[o8ito]  militvm 

HISTRICORVM    BT    rL[aviu8]  PAVLVS   BIABCVS    PATER  ET   FILIVS  DOMVM  A 
rVNDAMENTIS    IV8SERVNT    PABRICARI. 

^  C.  I.  L.,  vii,  268.  "  Litterarum  formes  ad  ssBcnlam  quintnm 
sextumve  dacant." 


154  COIN  OF  A  SECOND  CARAUSIUS- 

correct,  the  date  of  the  inscription  recording  the  con- 
struction of  the  cctstrum  must  be  shortly  anterior  to 
407  A.D.,  the  year  of  Constantino's  elevation.  Jus- 
tinian us  was  shortly  after  killed  in  battle  with  Stilicho's 
general  Sarus.^ 

Assuming  this  approximate  date  to  be  established, 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  analogies  existing  between  the 
lettering  and  orthography  of  our  coin  and  these  late 
Romano-British  monuments  do  not  necessarily  involve 
a  later  date  for  the  issue  of  this  remarkable  piece  than 
the  first  part  of  the  fifth  century.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  rapid  progress  of  the  Saxon  Conquest  leaves 
little  place  for  a  Roman  **  Cassar"  in  South-Eastem 
Britain  during  the  latter  part  of  that  century. 

Taking  all  the  facts  into  consideration,  it  seems  to 
me  that  the  elevation  of  the  Carausius  Caesar  of  our 
coin,  who  from  its  provenance  may  be  supposed,  like 
his  greater  namesake,  to  have  made  Rutupiae  a  prin- 
cipal stronghold,  is  not  unconnected  with  the  episode 
of  Constantino  IIFs  Gallic  adventure.  The  title  of 
CcBsar  itself  implies  the  recognition  of  an  Augustus, 
and,  if  I  am  right  in  reading  the  reverse  legend 
conxta[nti]no  for  Constantino,  there  can  be  little 
diflGiculty  in  recognising  the  British  Constantino  as 
the  colleague  of  our  Carausius.  The  chequered  career 
of  Constantino  in  Gaul  makes  it  highly  probable  that 
he  found  it  politic  to  strengthen  his  precarious  hold 
on  his  British  provinces  by  the  recognition  of  a  British 
colleague  with  the  Caesarean  title.  On  the  other 
hand,  a  new  and  self-elevated  British  tyrannus  whose 
position  was  not  yet  assured  would  be  likely  to  imi- 
tate, perhaps  in  a  more  humble  form,  the  precedent  of 

*  Zosimus,  lib,  vi.  01ympiod6ro8,  Hist.  Orcec.  Minares  (Dindorf), 
i,  453,  gives  the  same  account  in  slightly  different  words,  bnt 
qhanges  the  name  of  Jastiiiianus  to  Jastinus.  Zosimus,  however, 
preserves  the  fuller  and  presumably  the  more  correct  aocount.  He 
distinguishes  Justinianus,  who  was  killed  in  battle  with  Sarus  iu 
Gaul,  from  another  officer  called  Justus,  who  was  sent  by  Constan- 
tine  with  his  son  and  colleague,  the  Emperor  Constans,  into  Spain, 
and  there  excited  the  rivalry  of  Gerontius. 


COIN  OP  A  SECOND  CARAUSIUS.  155 

earlier  British  usurpers  who  claimed  to  be  the  col- 
leagues of  those  whom  it  was  their  chief  object  to 
overthrow.  It  is  thus  we  find  the  earlier  Carausius 
striking  coins  in  honour  of  his  imperial  *'  brothers", 
and  adding  their  titles  on  his  monetary  inscriptions,^ 
while  the  British  Constantino  himself  successfully- 
laboured  to  secure  his  recognition  by  Honorius. 

The  crisis  in  Constantino's  British  Government  came 
in  409,  when  his  general  Gerontius  revolted  in  Spain. 
GerontiUs,  himself  of  British  origin,  and  from  whom 
were  apparently  drawn  some  of  the  legendary  features 
of  the>rtigem  in  the  Hengist  story,'  stirred  the 
Barbarians  then  in  Gaul  to  a  revolt,  which  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  general  incursion  of  their  kinsmen  from 
beyond  the  Rhine  into  Gaul  and  Britain.  Then  it  was 
that  the  Britons,  in  despair,  expelled  their  imperial 
governors,  and  took  such  effective  measures  for  their  own 
defence  as  to  beat  back  for  the  time  the  barbarian 
invader.  In  the  earlier  moment  of  the  crisis,  how- 
ever, and  before  the  thorough-going  adoption  of  Home 
Rule,^  the  authoritv  of  Constantino  would  still  have 
been  recognised,  and  it  must  have  been  the  last 
endeavour  of  his  adherents  in  the  island  to  hold  on  to 
the  stronghold  which  was  the  key  to  communication 
with  Gaul,  Whether  we  regard  this  Carausius  as  an 
actual  nominee  of  Constantino  at  this  critical  juncture, 
or  whether  we  regard  him  as  an  independent  usurper 
who  considered  it  politic  to  bid  for  Constantines 
recognition  in  a  Csesarean  capacity,  we  shall  not  be 
far  wrong,  on  the  hypothesis  here  adopted,  in  re- 
ferring the  issue  of  this  unique  and  highly  interesting 

*  Cf.  the  inscriptions  caravsivs  et  fratres  svi,  pax  avggo.,  moneta 

AYGOO.,  etc. 

«  Rhys,  Celtic  Britain,  p.  97.     Ed.  2nd. 

*  Zosimus's  expressions  (lib.  vi)  are  strong :  "  T^9  Vtofiamv 
ap^S  aTToarijvat  Kal  Koff  kaxnov  ^loreveiv  ovk€TI  toi<:  Tovreov 
iiraKOvovra  vo/MOi^  , , ,  Kal  6  ^Apfioptfco^  airaf;  icaX  erepai  TaXd- 
T(ov  iTrap^iav  ^peravvbv^  fii/jLTja-d/j^evai  Kara  to  X<rov  a<f>a^  rfKev- 
dipioaav  rpoTrov,  iK^dWovaai  fiev  tov<;  Vay/Jiaiov^  apj^oi/ra?, 
olxelov  Se  xar  e^ovaiav  iroKirevp.a  KaOiardaaL* 


156  COIN  OF  A  SECOND  CARAUSIUS. 

coin  to  the  year  409.  It  is  perhaps  a  fair  induction 
that,  as  '*  the  memory  of  the  great  Constantine,  whom 
the  British  legions  had  given  to  the  Church  and  to 
the  Empire'V  had  influenced  the  British  soldieiy  in 
choosing  the  last  usurper,  so  the  memory  of  the  brave 
Carausius,  who  first  raised  Britain  to  a  position  of 
maritime  supremacy,  may  have  influenced  the  choice 
of  this  obscure  Caesar  at  a  moment  when  the  Romano- 
British  population  was  about  to  assert,  as  it  had 
never  done  before,  its  independence  of  continental 
empire. 

The  association  of  our  Carausius  with  the  British  Con- 
stantine indicated  by  the  present  coin  may  at  least  be 
taken  as  evidence  that  the  new  Caesar  stood  forth  as 
the  representative  of  the  interests  of  the  Constantinian 
dynasty  in  the  island  as  against  the  faction  of  the  rebel 
Gerontius  and  his  barbarian  allies.  It  is  not  unlikely 
even  that  he  belonged  to  the  same  family  as  Constan- 
tine III.  The  probability  that  the  later  Romano-British 
princes,  Ambrosius  Aurelianus,  Constantine  of  Dam- 
nonia,  Aurelius  Conan,  and  others,  traced  their  descent 
from  the  third  Constantine  has  already  been  shown  by 
Dr.  Guest.*  Gildas*  distinctly  tells  us  that  Ambrosius 
Aurelianus  (who  ruled  from  about  463  onwards)  was  of 
Roman  race,  and  that  he  was  the  survivor  of  a  family, 
members  of  which  had  been  clothed  in  the  purple,  but 
who  had  been  slain  during  the  troublous  period  that 
preceded  his  reign.  Dr.  Guest  notices  the  difficulty  that 
no  Roman  usurper  was  known  to  have  appeared  in 
Britain  after  the  time  of  Constantine  III  and  Con- 
stans,  and  that  those  Emperors  met  their  deaths  in 

^  See  Gibbon,  c.  xxz.  Orosins  (vii,  40)  says  tbat  Constantiue  III 
was  chosen  '*  propter  solam  spem  nominis". 

■  "  The  Early  English  Settlements  in  South  Britain",  in  the  Salis- 
bury Volume  of  the  Arch.  last.  Journal^  pp.  49  and  70.  {Origines 
CelticcB,  11,  172.) 

'  Hist.^  c.  XXV.  "  Duce  Ambrosio  Aureliano  qui  solus  fuit  comes 
fidelis,  tbrtis,  veraxque  forte  Bomanss  gentis,  qui  tantsB  tempestatis 
collisione,  occisis  in  eadem  parentibus  purpura  nimirum  indntis, 
superfuerat." 


COIN  OF  A  SECOND  CARAUSIUS.  157 

Gaul.  Perhaps  the  elevation  of  another  imperial 
usurper  in  Britain  itself,  of  which  we  have  now  numis- 
matic evidence,  may  explain  the  words  of  the  British 
historian,  and  the  reference  to  the  violent  end  of 
emperors  of  Ambrosius'  family  may  include  a  tragedy 
in  which  the  Carausius  Csesar  of  our  coin  played  a  lead- 
ing part. 

It  is  possible  that  after  the  expulsion  of  the  officials 
of  the  central  government  at  Aries,  a  Caesar  of  British 
election  may  have  continued  for  a  while  to  maintain 
himself  within  the  walls  of  Kichborough  or  London ; 
but  a  variety  of  historical  considerations,  a  brief  state- 
ment of  which  will  not  be  found  impertinent  to  the 
present  inquiry,  precludes  us  from  supposing  that  any 
one  pretending  to  an  imperial  title  in  the  island  could 
have  long  survived  the  revolution  so  forcibly  described 
by  Zosimus. 

It  is  probable  that  during  the  period  that  immedi- 
ately succeeded  the  overthrow  of  direct  imperial  govern- 
ment in  Britain,  at  least  its  south-eastern  parts  were 
administered  by  the  civic  officers  of  the  various  muni- 
cipal commonwealths.  Unity  of  action  would  be,  to  a 
certain  extent,  secured  by  the  provincial  conventus  of 
the  civitates,  the  tradition  of  M'hich  seems  to  find  ex- 
pression in  the  *' conventional"  election  of  the  **mon- 
archs  of  Britain"  recorded  in  the  Welsh  Triads,^  just 
as  the  conventus  of  the  Illyrian  civitates  is  preserved 
by  the  couvend  of  the  Albanian  clans.  The  resuscita- 
tion of  the  conventus  of  Gallic  cities  at  Aries,  by  Hono- 
rius,  was  a  sign  of  the  times ;  and  it  is  noteworthy  that 
the  celebrated  meeting  of  the  Britons  and  Saxons,  the 
legendary  scene  of  Hengist's  treachery,  is  described  by 
Nennius  as  such  a  conventus. 

The  conventus  of  the  civitates  was  the  natural  place 
for  electing  the  military  officers  who  still  continued  to 
perform  the  necessary  functions  fulfilled  by  the  Dux 

*  Triad  34,  3rd  Series  (Myvyrian  Archaiologyy  ii,  63).  "Tri  Un- 
benn  DygynntU  ynys  Prydain",  etc. 


158  COIN  OP  A  SECOND  CARAUSIUS. 

Britanniarum  and  Comes  Littoris  Saxonici  of  late  im- 
perial organisation  ;  but  of  any  one  pretending  to  the 
higher  imperial  titles,  whether  of  Caesar  or  Augustus, 
at  this  time  in  Britain,  there  is  no  question.  Constan- 
tius,  the  contemporary  authority  for  the  account  of 
St.  Germanus'  two  visits  to  our  island  in  429  and  447 
or  448,  mentions  no  one  higher  than  a  Primus  RegioniSy 
bearing,  it  is  to  be  observed,  the  Grseco-Roman  name 
of  Elaphius,  and  a  magistrate  who  exercised  the  office 
of  Tribune.^  Germanus  himself,  as  Dux  Prcelii  in  the 
"Alleluia  Battle"  and  the  operations  that  preceded  it, 
assumed  a  military  rank  akin  to  that  borne  by  the 
typical  Roman  chieftain  in  Britain  of  the  last  half  of 
the  fifth  century.  Ambrosius  Aurelianus  appears  only 
tis  Dux  (in  the  Welsh  chronicles,  Gwledig)^  a  title 
which,  as  has  been  suggested  by  Professor  Rhys,^  seems 
to  represent  the  unbroken  tradition  of  the  Dux  Bri- 
tanniarum. So,  too,  the  Arthur  of  Nennius,  though 
allied  with  British  kings,  is  himself  spoken  of  as  Dux 
Belli} 

But  the  depletion  of  the  urban  population  of  south- 
eastern Britain,  consequent  on  the  barbarian  ravages, 
Pictish,  Hiberno-Scottish,  and  Saxon,  was  constantly 
giving  greater  prominence  to  the  Celtic  element  even 
in  that  part  of  the  island  which,  during  the  past  four 
centuries,  had  been  most  thoroughly  Romanised.  It 
was,  no  doubt,  to  a  great  extent,  the  natural  outcome 
of  these  altered  relations  that  the  title  of  "  Bex"  now 

^  Constantius,  Vita  S.  Germani,  i,  24,  in  Acta  Sanctorum,  ad  diem 
31  Julii.  **  Vir  Tribunitiae  potestatis.**  The  same  phrase  occurs  in 
Gregory  of  Tours  (lib.  x,  c.  21 ;  cf.  lib.  vii,  23).  From  Fortunatus 
(lib.  vii,  16)  the  office  of  Tribune  seems  to  have  been  a  step  towards 
the  dignity  of  Comes.  He  had  charge  of  the  castra  and  prisons  (cf. 
Ducange,  «.  v.  "Tribunus",  ed.  Favre).  A  Cornish  inscription 
{Insc,  Brit,  Christy  13),  reading  ...bonemimori  filli  tribvni,  seems 
to  contain  a  reference  to  this  title ;  of.  consobrino  maoli  maqistrati 
of  No.  125.  Both  inscriptions  belong  to  Dr.  Hiibner^s  **  First 
Period." 

«  Celtic  Britain,  p.  103. 

*  Hist.,  c.  lyiii.    "Artur  pugnabat  contra Saxoncs  cum  regi- 

bps  Brittouura  sed  ipse  dux  erat  bellorum." 


COIN  OF  A  SECOND  CARAUSIUS.  159 

comes  to  the  fore  in  British  annals.  Already  in  the 
version  of  St.  Germanus's  mission,  given  by  the  British 
hagiographer,  Marcus  Anachoreta,  and  followed  with  • 
variations  by  Nennius,  we  find  the  Saint  repulsed 
from  a  royal  palace,  and  himself  represented  as  a  king- 
maker. Gildas,  writing  of  the  state  of  Britain  after 
the  embassy  to  Aetius,  in  445,  speaks  of  a  succession 
of  kings.*  His  own  contemporaries  and  their  pre- 
decessorp  bore  the  royal  title.»  The  British  prince 
Riothimus,  whose  aid  was  successfully  sought  in  470 
A.D.  by  the  Emperor  Anthemius  against  the  Visigoths 
under  Euric  in  Gaul,  receives  the  title  of  Rex  Brito- 
num  from  his  onlv  chronicler  Jordanes.* 

But  this  growing  prevalence  of  the  regal  title  in 
Britain  must  not  by  any  means  be  taken  to  indicate 
the  abrogation  of  all  Roman  traditions.  The  title  of 
Rex  itself  was  no  doubt  recommended  by  its  claims  to 
barbarian  allegiance ;  but  if  we  consider  the  changed 
usage  of  the  times  in  other  provinces  besides  Britain, 
it  will  be  seen  that  by  the  fifth  and  sixth  century  it 
had  been  frankly  adopted  by  Roman  rulers  in  their 
relation  with  Roman  populations.  The  title  of  Rex 
had,  indeed,  already  imperial  associations,  as  we  know 

^  Acta  Sanetorunif  loc.  cit.,  p.  158,  Nennins,  o.  xxxi.  Marcus 
appears  to  have  flourished  in  the  eighth  century.  He  was  a  Briton 
by  birth,  educated  in  Ireland,  and  after  having  been  for  many  years 
a  bishop  in  his  native  country,  was  enticed  to  France  by  Charles  the 
Great's  munificence,  and  received  as  an  anchorite  at  St.  Medard's 
Monastery. 

•  De  JExcidio  Britannice,  c.  xix.  "  Ungebantur  Eeges  et  non  per 
Deum,  sed  qui  cseteris  crudeliores  eztarent,  et  paulo  post  ab  uncto- 
ribus,  non  pro  veri  ezaminatione,  trucidabantur,  aliis  electis  trucio- 
ribus." 

'  Epistola  CHldcB,  "  Reges  habet  Britannia  sed  tyrannos."  Vor- 
tipor  is  addressed  as  "boni  regis  nequam  fili."  Maglocunus  has  the 
regal  title,  and  he  had  in  early  youth  slain  the  King,  his  uncle. 

("  Nonne  in  primis  adolesceiitisB  tu89  annis  avunculum  regem 

oppressisti  ?*')     Maglocunus  (Maelgwn)  himself  died,  according  to 
the  Annates  CamhricB,  in  574. 

*  Jordanes,  De  Getarum  sive  Goihorum  Originey  ed.  Closs.,  p.  160. 
The  defeat  of  these  "  Brittani"  at  Bourges  is  mentioned  by  Gregory 
of  Tours,  lib.  ii,c.  19,  but  he  does  not  notice  their  transmarine  origin. 


160  COIN  OF  A  SECOND  CARAUSIUS. 

from  the  instance  of  Constantine's  nephew  Hannibal- 
lianus,  who  was  not  only  allowed,  in  virtue  of  his 
oriental  government,  to  assume  this  style,  but  to  add 
it  to  his  name  on  the  coinage  of  the  republic.  In  the 
fifth  century  we  find  the  Grallo-Roman  population  of 
Northern  Gaul,  isolated  from  the  rest  of  the  empire 
by  the  Frankish  conquests,  obeying  a  prince  of  the 
name  of  Syagrius,  with  the  remarkable  title  of  Rex 
Romanorum}  The  patrician  who  thus  stood  forth  as 
the  champion  of  his  nationality  in  this  Gallic  "Romania" 
ruled  over  barbarians  as  well  as  men  of  Roman  blood, 
and  his  full  title  seems  to  have  been  rex  francorvm 
ET  ROMANORVM.  In  Africa,  too,  after  the  Vandal  con- 
quest, a  curious  parallel  occurs.  From  a  Mauretanian 
inscription,  it  appears  that  a  remnant  of  the  Roman 
population,  in  close  confederation  with  the  Moors,  pro- 
longed awhile  their  independence  of  the  Teutonic  in- 
vader under  the  headship  of  a  Prince  Masuna,  who 
here  receives  the  title  of  rex  gentivm  mavrorvm  et 
ROMANORVM.*  Obvious  parallels  may  be  supplied  from 
the  Italy  of  Odoacer  and  Theodoric,  as  well  as  the 
lUyrian  regions ;  and  in  Britain,  where  the  Celtic  ele- 
ment now  claimed  for  itself  political  parity,  there  is 
every  reason  to  believe  that  a  dual  title  of  the  same 
kind  was  adopted  by  Riothimus  and  his  predecessors, 
who  were  no  doubt  Reges  Romanorum  et  Britonum^  or 
even,  it  may  be,  Saxonum  as  well.  It  is  characteristic 
of  the  times  that  Gildas,  in  his  review  of  Roman 
history,  speaks  of  "Reges  Romanorum"  afterwards 
obtaining  the  "Imperium"  of  the  world,*  an  expression 
curiously  prophetic  of  the  usage  of  the  Holy  Roman 
Empire. 

A    "Rex   Romanorum",   then,    was   no   longer  an 

^  Oreff,  Tur.,  lib.  ii.  c.  27.  It  is  probable  that  his  ^Either  ^gidius, 
who  also  reigned  at  Soissons,  had  the  same  title. 

"  C.  I.  L.,  viii,  9835.  The  iDScription  is  of  the  year  508,  and 
begins,  PRO .  salyte.  et  iNCOLramitateJ  .  reo[is]  .  hasykae  .  GENT[inm] 
HAYR[oram]  et  R0MAN0R[umJ. 

*  I)e  JExcid.  Brit,  c.  iii.  '*  Bomanorum  Reges  cum  orbis  Impe- 
riam  obtinuis8ent",etc.  There  is  a  yariaut  reading, "  Romani  Reges". 


COIN  OF  A  SECOND  CARAUSIUS.  1  6 1 

anomaly.  The  Rex  himself  had  become  an  imperial 
oflBcial,  who  often  united  to  the  regal  title  the  digni- 
ties of  the  Patriciate  or  the  Ducatus.  As  a  title,  it 
afforded  a  convenient  bridge  to  unite  the  fealty  of 
Roman  and  barbarian.  But  the  very  fact  that  such  a 
title  obtained  currency  among  the  isolated  patches  of 
Romanic  population  that  in  Gaul,  Africa,  or  Britain 
still  raised  their  heads  above  the  barbarian  flood,  is  a 
witness  to  their  despair  of  setting  up  pretenders  to 
higher  imperial  rank.  The  time  had  gone  by  when  a 
Maximus  could  go  forth  from  his  British  home  to 
Rome  or  Trier,  or  a  Carausius  could  even  secure  his 
sway  over  so  much  of  the  Roman  world  as  was  con- 
tained within  the  isle  of  Britain.  There  was  no  place 
in  these  contracted  dominions  for  a  Caesar  or  Augustus, 
and  though  the  name  of  Imperatoi*  has  survived  in 
Welsh,  and  has  even  attached  itself  to  Arthur  in 
Welsh  saga,  there  is  no  allusion  in  any  of  our  early 
authorities  to  its  adoption  by  a  Romano-British  king.^ 
In  short,  all  historic  probability  seems  strongly  to 
weigh  against  the  existence  of  any  prince  in  Britain 
calling  himself  Caesar  and  Dominus  during  the  period 
which  intervened  between  the  overthrow  of  the  direct 
Imperial  Government  in  Britain  in  409  and  the  final 
conquest  of  the  South-Eastern  part  of  the  island  by 
the  English  invaders.  The  titular  authority  of  the 
Roman  Emperors  no  doubt  continued,  and  they  may 
even  have  gained  in  sentimental  veneration  from  the 
loss  of  effectual  control.  But  the  Emperors  whose 
titular  authority  was  acknowledged  lived  far  away  at 
Rome,  or  even  Constantinople.  Honorius,  by  his 
letters  to  the  cities  of  Britain,  was  careful  to  legalise 
the  new  state  of  things,  and  the  very  instrument  that 
abrogated  the  direct  government  of  his  officials  still 
asserted  his  dominion.  The  embassy  of  the  Britons  to 
the  Consul  Aetius  implied  the  recognition  of  his  titular 

^  The  "Gwledigs",  or  over-kings,  were  sometimeB  called  '^Kessa- 
rogion",  i.e.,  "  Csesarian",  by  the  bards  (Rhys,  Celtic  Britain,  2nd  ed., 
p.  135)  in  virtue  of  their  **  Dacatus". 


162  COIN  OF  A  SECOND  CAEAUSIUS. 

sovereign  the  Emperor  Valentinian  III.  The  mission 
of  St.  Germanus  was  itself  a  rehabilitation  of  the 
spu'itual  sway  of  Rome  as  against  the  incursions  of 
Celtic  heterodoxy,  and  the  Synod  of  Verulamium  was, 
from  every  point  of  view,  a  re-cementing  of  the  ties 
that  still  bound  Britain  to  the  Respublica  Romana. 
And  that  those  ties  were  not  so  purely  sentimental  as 
we  might  be  prone  to  imagine  is  shown  by  the  readi- 
ness with  which  the  British  Riothimus  answered  the 
call  of  the  Emperor  Anthemius,  and  crossed  the  Channel 
at  the  head  of  his  forces  in  the  capacity  of  imperial 
commander  against  the  Goths.  The  loyalty  of  the 
Roman  element  in  Britain  to  the  Empire  at  a  still 
later  date  is  strikingly  attested  by  the  words  of 
Gildas,*  who,  when  describing  the  career  of  the  British 
Emperor  Magnus  Maximus,  cannot  refrain,  two  cen- 
turies after  the  event,  from  an  indignant  outburst 
against  the  usurper  who  had  wickedly  presumed  to 
raise  his  hands  against  *'  his  Lords  the  two  legitimate 
Emperors".  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  how  far  the 
writer's  presumable  loyalty  to  the  Emperor  Justinian 
might  have  stood  the  shock  of  learning  that  his  great 
commander  Belisarius  had  offered  Britain  to  the  Goths 
in  exchange  for  Sicily.  This  proposal,  recorded  by 
Procopius,^  is  at  least  of  interest,  as  showing  that  if 
Britain  still  recognised  the  titular  sovereignty  of  the 
Augustus,  he  on  his  side  still  affected  to  consider  it  a 
subject  diocese. 

But  this  very  recognition  of  imperial  over-lordship, 
shadowy  as  it  had  become,  precluded  the  existence  of 
imperial  pretenders  in  Britain  itself.  The  reappearance 
of  the  highest  imperial  titles  in  our  own  island  was 
rather  the  work  of  the  later  Anglo-Saxon  kings,  and 
was  the  insular  reply  to  the  revival  of  the  Western 
Empire  by  Charlemagne  on  the  Continent.  The  usual 
imperial   title   of  JEthelstan   and   his  successors  was 


*  De  Exid,  Brit»,  c.  x. 

■  De  Bello  Vandalico^  lib.  ii. 


COIN  OP  A  SBCOND  CARAUSITJS.  163 

"Basileus''  or  "Imperator",  and  it  was  reserved  for 
Eadred,  as  "  CvniDg  and  C&ere'V  to  translate  into  an 
English  form  tnat  GaBsarean  style  of  which  the  coin  of 
the  second  Carausius  before  us  must  be  taken  to 
supply  the  latest  memorial  in  Eoman  Britain. 

^  Cod,  DipL^  ii,  803.  Mr.  Freeman  remarks  on  this  (Norman 
Conqttesty  i,  558)  that  this  diploma  is  remarkable  as  "  the  only  one 
on  which  the  title  of  Cassar  appears  in  any  shape.  'Gasere'  is  the 
regular  English  description  oi  the  Continental  emperors^  bnt  I  know 
of  no  other  instance  of  its  application  to  an  English  king." 


6tB  IKS.,  YOL.  Y.  12 


164 


©bituarp* 

Mb.  Matthew  Holbeche  Bloxam,  F.S.A. 

We  regret  to  annonnce  the  death  of  one  of  the  most  valued  mem- 
bers of  our  Association,  and  one  of  its  Vice-Presidents,  Mr.  Matthew 
H.  BJoxam,  F.S.A.  He  was  born  at  Rngby  on  the  12th  of  May  1805, 
and  was  the  fifth  son  of  the  Rev.  Richard  Rouse  Bloxam,  D.D.  (for 
many  years  an  Assistant  Master  of  Rugby  School),  and  Anne  his 
wife,  one  of  the  sisters  of  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  President  of  the 
Royal  Academy.  A  memoir  of  his  life,  with  an  admir&ble  portrait, 
appeared  in  our  Journal  for  1883 ;  we  may,  therefore,  refer  our 
readers  to  it  for  particulars  of  his  well-spent  life,  and  confine  our- 
selves to  a  few  remarks  on  his  title  to  fame. 

Articled  at  an  early  age  to  a  solicitor  at  Rugby,  and  with  but 
little  leisure  for  pursuits  unconnected  with  his  profession,  he 
gathered  by  observation  and  a  careful  study  of  the  few  books  within 
his  reach,  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  ecclesiastical  architecture  to 
embody  the  result  of  his  labours,  by  way  of  question  and  answer,  in 
a  manuscript  which  formed  the  foundation  of  his  work  on  the  Prin- 
ciples of  Gothic  Ecclesiastical  Architectura  During  his  short  stay 
in  London  on  his  admission  to  the  legal  profession,  he  offered  his 
manuscript  for  publication  to  a  publisher  in  Holborn,  who  civilly 
declined  to  undertake  it,  and  suggested  that  it  might  well  form  one 
of  Pinnock's  Catechisms,  then  in  course  of  publication.  A  year  after- 
wards he  fortunately  made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Combe  of  Lei- 
cester and  Rugby,  ultimately  printer  to  the  University  of  Oxford, 
who  undertook  the  publication  of  the  manuscript  at  his  own  risk, — 
a  thin  volume  in  12aio.  The  little  work,  on  its  appearance  in  1829, 
was  well  received.  A  few  years  afterwards  it  was  given  by  Dr. 
Arnold  as  one  of  the  prizes  in  the  Lower  School  of  Rugby,  and 
passed  subsequently  through  several  editions.  In  the  sixth  edition 
the  catechetical  form  was  abandoned,  the  work  was  enlarged,  and 
attracted  attention  as  the  most  readable  book  for  those  who  wished 
to  commence  the  study  of  architecture.  A  notion  of  the  value  of 
the  previous  editions  may  be  formed  from  the  fact,  that  M.  Daniel 
Ramee,  a  French  architect  of  eminence,  published  a  like  work  in 
catechetical  form,  Hietoire  de  r Architecture  on  France  (Franck, 
Paris,  1846),  with  wood-engravings,  and  stated  in  the  preface  that 
the  wonderful  success  of  Mr.  Bloxam's  work  had  induced  him  to 
undertake,  on  the  same  plan,  a  similar  work  for  France.  A  German 
translation  of  the  seventh  edition  was  printed  at  Leipsic.  In  1859 
a  tenth  edition,  much  enlarged,  with  three  hundred  wood  engrav- 
ings by  T.  O.  Jewitt,  appeared,  and  met  with  the  merited  success 


OBITUARF.  165 

which  its  clear  style  and  methodical  arrangement  fully  jastified. 
Seventeen  thousand  copies  of  the  first  ten  editions  were  sold.  The 
tenth  edition  was  exhausted  after  a  few  years  had  passed.  Mr. 
Bloxam  hesitated  to  comply  with  the  call  for  a  fresh  edition,  and 
it  was  at  the  earnest  request  of  Sir  Gilbert  Scott  that  he  again 
resumed  a  revision  of  his  work,  and  after  some  years  of  carefal 
thought  and  study  issued,  in  1882,  an  eleventh  edition  in  three 
vols.  In  thb  first  two  vols,  the  chief  additions  are  a  sketch  of  the 
discipline  of  the  Church  as  regards  the  internal  arrangements  of  the 
sacred  edifice  and  its  ornaments  prior  to  the  Reformation,  and  a 
chapter  on  monasteries.  The  third  vol.  treats  of  the  vesiments  in 
use  in  the  Church  prior  to  and  after  the  Reformation,  with  the  con- 
sequent  changes  in  internal  arrangements,  and  of  sepulchral  monu- 
ments. 

Space  will  not  permit  an  enumeration  of  the  various  archaeologi- 
cal societies  of  which  Mr.  Bloxam  was  a  member,  or  of  his  frequent 
contributions  to  the  journals  of  those  societies  on  sabjects  con- 
nected with  his  native  county  and  other  English  counties.  We 
must  confine  our  notice  to  his  connection  with  the  Cambrian  ArchsB- 
ological  Association. 

In  1872,  the  year  after  he  resigned  his  professional  duties,  he 
paid  a  visit  to  his  friend,  the  Bev.  Wm.  Be  van  of  Hay,  Canon  of 
St.  David's,  who  induced  him  to  attend  the  Brecon  Meeting  of  our 
Society.  On  this  occasion  and  at  the  subsequent  Meetings  of  our 
Society  at  Knighton,  Abergavenny,  and  Carmarthen,  Mr.  Bloxam 
gave  that  information  which  his  well  stored  mind  and  ready 
memory  enabled  him  to  impart,  and  contributed  much  to  the  suc- 
cess of  the  Meetings.  He  was  reluctant  at  Brecon  to  become  a 
member  on  account  of  his  residence  in  a  midland  county  and  ad- 
vancing age ;  but  the  urgent  request  of  three  other  old  Bugbeians 
present,  with  whom  he  cordially  fraternised,  induced  him  to  relin- 
quish his  scruples,  and  he  was  nominated  a  member.  In  the  two 
following  years  Mr.  Bloxam  contributed  to  our  Journal  a  series  of 
interesting  papers  which  he  had  prepared  a  few  years  previously, 
during  his  holiday  visits  to  Beaumaris,  on  the  churches  of  Beau- 
maris,  Priestholme,  Llanbabo,  Bettws  y  Coed,  Llanrwst,  Llaniestyn, 
Llanelidan,  and  th^  Friary  of  Llanvaes,  with  an  account  of  the 
monumental  effigies  which  they  contained;  and  in  subsequent 
Numbers  he  furnished  descriptions  of  the  sepulchral  monuments  in 
the  Cathedrals  of  St.  David's,  Bangor,  St.  Asaph,  and  Llandaff. 
These  were  his  principal  contributions ;  but  a  reference  to  recent 
volumes  will  show  that  a  year  seldom  passed  without  a  short  paper 
of  his,  describing  a  sepulchral  effigy  or  other  object  which  the  Asso- 
ciation at  its  yearly  Meeting  considered  deserving  of  notice. 

Old  age  did  not  lessen  Mr.  Bloxam 's  sympathy  with  the  young 
and  rising  genei^ation.  The  door  of  his  house,  well  stored  with 
relics  of  an^quity  and  objects  of  art,  was  ever  open  to  his  young 
friends  at  Rugby  School,  to  whom  he  gave  a  ready  welcome,  ex- 
plained his  collected  treasures,  and  told  the  recollections  of  his  early 

•     12» 


166  ABCRJCOUXITCAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

life.  He  waa  hale  and  hearty  long  after  be  had  parsed  the  allotted 
span  of  life,  and  retained  his  memory  and  mental  focultieB,  with 
only  a  dimiaiBhing  power  of  work,  nntil  his  last  attack.  On  the 
18th  of  January  last  he  had  a  paralytic  seizure,  from  which  ha  par- 
tially recovered,  and  was  ahle  again  to  enjoy  the  society  of  hia 
friends;  but  on  the  5th  of  March  a  second  attack  occurred,  from 
which  be  never  rallied,  Euid  death  ensned  on  the  24th  of  April, 
His  kind  and  genial  manner,  and  pleasant  conversation,  will  long 
remain  in  the  memory  of  the  friends  who  deplore  his  loss,  and  m 
all  who  had  the  pleasure  of  his  acquaintance. 


antaeoloffical  i^ottn  aid)  mtxits, 

BkOHZB  YssBEL  rOUND  IN  LUHDXVXLLET  PlKISH,  BbEOKVOCKHHIBB. 

Onr  Local  Secretary  for  Radnorshire,  Ur.  Stephen  W.  Williams, 
has  kindly  commnnicated  the  discovery  of  a  bronze  vessel  in  the 
parish  of  Llandevalley,  in  Brecknockshire.  It  was  fonnd  in  an  old 
well  accidentally  brought  to  light  whilst  digging  a  dntin  in  a  bog. 


It  is  now  in  the  possession  of  E.  Bntler,  Esq.,  of  Ll&ngoed,  Breok* 
noohshire,  by  whose  courtesy  Mr.  Worthington  G-.  Smith  has  been 
allowed  to  make  a  woodcut  of  it  for  the  Journal.  The  vessel  is  9t  in. 
high,  and  of  a  well  known  shape,  standing  on  thr«e  legs,  and  hav- 
ing a  handle  and  spout.    A  similar  one,  fonnd  in  18S5,  in  ploughing 


ABCR£OLOGI0AL  NOTES  ANB  QUEBIES.  167 

a  field  at  Hendre  Forfydd,  near  Corwen,  has  already  been  illnstrated 
in  the  Archceohgia  Gambreneis.^ 

Mr.  Wynn  WiUiams,  in  a  oommnnioation  made  in  reference  to 
this  find,  states  that  it  was  like  one  in  the  collection  of  J.  P.  Sen- 
honse,  Esq.,  of  Netherhall,  Cumberland,  whicb  was  also  of  bronze, 
8  in.  high,  discovered  in  Galloway.  He  also  mentions  having  seen 
one  in  the  porch  of  Dumfries  Church,  which  had  been  dug  up  when 
the  foundations  of  that  building  were  laid.  This  form  of  vessel 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  uncommon  in  medisBval  times,  as, 
besides  having  one  in  my  own  collection  (purchased  of  a  dealer  in 
Edinburgh),  I  have  noticed  several  others  in  the  Museum  of  National 
Antiquities  in  Edinburgh,'  in  the  Museum  of  the  Boyal  Irish  Aca- 
demy in  Dublin,'  and  in  the  British  Museum.^  Illustrations  of 
three-legged  bronze  vessels  of  this  type  will  be  found  in  Camden's 
Britannia  (Cough's  edition,  1789,  vol.  iii,  pi.  83),  in  Dr.  B.  Munro's 
Ancient  Scottish  Lake-Dwellings  (p.  24),  and  in  The  Catalogue  of 
Antiquities  Exhibited  in  the  Museum  of  the  British  Archaeological  Ingti- 
tote  in  Edinburgh^  1856  (p.  6(>). 

The  chief  peculiarity  of  the  shape  of  the  vessel  now  under  con- 
sideration is  the  spout,  which  terminates  in  the  head  of  a  beast,  and 
is  tied  to  the  body  of  the  vessel  with  a  little  crossbar,  apparently 
intended  to  strengthen  the  whole.  The  date  of  such  vessels  is  pro- 
bably from  1300  to  1500 ;  and  a  very  curious  contemporary  illus^ 
tration  of  one  is  to  be  found  in  the  Louterell  Psalter,  in  the  posses- 
sion  of  Joseph  Weld,  Esq.,  of  Lul worth  Castle  in  Norfolk.*  This 
MS.  belongs  to  the  first  part  of  the  fourteenth  century,  and  contains 
a  large  number  of  most  interesting  drawings  of  the  various  handi- 
crafts, occupations,  and  amusements  of  the  period.  Amongst  other 
scenes  is  the  picture  of  a  juggler  lying  down  with  an  apple  or  other 
round  object  in  his  mouth.  An  assistant  is  pouring  some  fluid  into 
a  funnel,  above  his  mouth,  out  of  a  three-legged  pot  exactly  of  the 
same  shape  as  the  one  found  at  Llandevalley.  This  scene  is  described 
in  the  text  as  '*  filling  a  man  with  water". 

Examples  of  bronze  ewers  on  three  legs,  without  a  spout,  are 
engraved  in  the  Journal  of  the  British  Archceological  Institute^  and 
in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  ^  The  former  is  in- 
scribed, in  Lombardic  characters  of  the  fourteenth  century,  veniz 
LAVBB ;  and  the  latter,  which  was  found  in  Gower,  and  exhioited  by 
the  late  Colonel  Crant  Francis,  is  inscribed  in  similar  letters, — 

IS   8VI  LAWB  QILEBEET 

KI  MBMBLBBA  MAL  I  DBDBBT 

I  am  the  ewer  of  Gilbert ; 

Whoever  carries  me  ofi*,  may  he  obtain  from  it  evil. 

1  Vol.  iv,  3rd  Series,  p.  416.  ^  >  Catalogue,  p.  101. 

s  Sir  William  Wilde's  Catalogue. 

*  The  British  Museum  has  published  no  catalogue  at  present,  nor  does 
there  seem  to  be  any  chance  of  one  being  compiled  for  some  time  to  come. 

*  See  Vetuita  MonumeiUay  published  by  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  vol. 
vi,  pi.  xxiv,  fig.  10. 

*  Vol.  xiii,  p.  74.  »  Vol.  iii,  2nd  Series,  p.  199. 


168  ARCHiEOLOGlCAL   NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

It  is  evident  that  these  two  specimens  were  used  for  washing  pur- 
poses; and  it  seems  probable  that  the  three-legged  vessels  with 
sponts  were  employed  either  as  ewers  to  hold  water  for  the  toilet, 
or  for  cooking. 

J.  RoMiLLT  Allen. 


Salusburts  of  Erbistock. — The  following  is  a  copy  of  an  old  in- 
scription at  Erbistock  Hall,  the  former  seat  of  the  Salnsburys  of 
Erbistock.  I  do  not  think  it  has  ever  yet  been  published,  and  in 
any  case  the  inscription  deserves  to  be  now  printed,  so  as  to  be  read 
in  connection  with  the  extracts  relating  to  the  Salnsbnry  family  in 
the  Erbistock  Register,  which  were  given  in  the  last  Number  of 
the  ArchcBohgia  Cambrensis, 

Alfred  Neobard  Palmer. 

"  Non  quam  diu  Bed  quam  bene. 

**  Sir  John  Salusbury  of  Lleweny,  Kt.,  Sonne  of  Sir  Roger  Sal : 
Kt.  marr**  Jane  dau.  &  coheir  to  David  Middleton,  Esq.,  of  Chester, 
desc.  fro.  Gwaunynog. 

"  George  Salusbury  of  Erbystock,  yonguer  sonne  of  Sir  John  Sal : 
Kt.  mar**  Mary  da.  to  Tho.  Groevenor  of  Eason  in  Com:  Cast:  Esq. 

"  Thomas  Salusbury,  son  of  George  Sal :  mar**  Mary  dau  :  to  Row- 
land Hill  of  Hawkstone  in  Com :  Salop,  Gent.,  son  of  Humphrey 
Hill,  Gent. 

"  John  Salusbury,  son  of  Tho.  Sal :  mar*  Katherine  dau :  to  Hum- 
phrey Nicholas  of  Llaethbwlch  in  Com :  Mountgom :  Gent.,  son  of 
David  Nicholas  of  Garth  Hen  in  the  County  of  Glamorgan,  Gent. 

"  Thomas  Salusbury,  eldest  son  of  John  Sal :  marr**  Catherine 
dau' to  John  Cardock  of  Halmerend  in  Com :  Staff:  Esq.,  desc"*  from 
CarswaU".  (?) 

Cromlechs  at  Llanfairfechan,  Carnarvonshire. — On  Friday,  the 
13th  day  of  August  1886,  Mr.  Worsley,  F.S.A.,  of  Warrington, 
read  a  paper  before  the  Royal  Archaeological  Institute,  on  certain 
excavations  at  Llanfairfechan,  and  particularly  as  to  a  cromlech 
discovered  upon  a  farm  belonging  to  Mr.  Richard  John  Jones. 
The  paper  was  read  in  the  Council  Chamber  at  the  Town  Hall, 
Chester,  and  the  Lord  Bishop  of  the  diocese  presided.  There  was 
a  large  attendance  of  members  of  the  Society,  and  of  antiqua- 
ries and  others  interested  in  archaeology. 

His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Westminster,  who  presided  the  same 
evening  in  the  Historic  Section,  exhibited  a  large  gold  torque,  which 
had  been  discovered  in  a  similar  grave  to  that  upon  Mr.  Jones's 
property,  and  had  been  purchased  by  him  from  the  lucky  finder  for 
£150,  and  by  him  presented  to  the  Chester  Museum.  The  finding 
of  this  torque  gave  additional  interest  to  the  remains  exhibited  by 
Mr.  Worsley. 

Mr.  Worsley  proceeded  to  give  an  account  of  the  discovery  as 
follows : — 


ARCHiEOLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES.  169 

"  This  snmmer,  when  I  was  staying  at  Llanfairfechani  in  North 
Wales,  I  was  told  that  an  ancient  grave  had  been  discovered,  and 
that  some  pottery  and  bones  had  been  found  in  it.  Upon  making 
further  inquiries,  I  found  that  the  discovery  had  been  made  in 
November  last,  upon  a  farm  called  Tynllwyran,  in  the  parish  of 
Llanfairfechan,  on  high  ground  at  the  foot  of  a  hill  at  the  end  of 
the  village  called  '  Dinas',  and  so  marked  on  the  Ordnance  Sur- 
vey. The  farm  is  owned  by  Mr.  Richard  John  Jones  of  Llanfair- 
fechan, grocer  and  general  dealer,  who  was  present  when  the  dis- 
covery was  made,  and  who,  I  was  told,  had  immediately  stopped 
further  excavating,  and  had  built  a  large  wooden  shed  over  the 
site,  to  prevent  its  being  further  disturbed  until  he  should  have 
time  for  further  search.  I  called  upon  Mr.  Jones,  and  found  him 
very  desirous  of  obtaining  information  as  to  the  value  and  antiquity 
of  the  discovery.  I  went  with  him  to  the  farm,  and  found  the  site 
of  the  grave  covered  by  the  shed  as  described  to  me.  The  grave 
was  made  by  the  placing  of  four  large  flat  stones  in  an  upright 
position,  and  covering  them  with  a  fifth.  The  stones  were  four  to 
six  inches  in  thickness,  and  the  inside  measurements  of  the  grave 
were  as  follow  :  Length,  4  fb. ;  width  at  one  end,  2  ft.  9  in.,  and  at 
the  other,  1  ft.  4  in.  The  stones  at  the  end  of  the  grave  sloped 
inwards,  reducing  the  length  to  3  ft.  3  in.  at  the  top.  The  whole 
was  covered  by  a  large  stone  3  ft.  9  in.  long,  and  3  ft.  2  in.  wide  at 
one  end,  and  1  ft.  11  in.  at  the  other.  The  grave  was  2  ft.  deep. 
I  was  also  shown  twenty-seven  fragments  of  pottery,  and  about 
four  ounces  of  calcined  bones  broken  into  small  fragments,  which  I 
was  informed  were  found  in  the  g^ave.  The  pottery  is  orna- 
mented with  lines  and  chevrons  very  redely  drawn;  it  is  of  a  light 
brown  colour,  and  has  the  appearance  of  sun-baked  clay.  Nothing 
else  was  found  in  the  grave.  As  to  the  discovery,  Mr.  Jones 
informed  me  that  some  of  his  men  were  levelling  the  ground  over 
the  grave,  which,  for  a  circumference  of  twenty  feet  or  so,  was 
slightly  elevated,  when  they  came  upon  the  cover  of  the  grave, 
which,  upon  being  raised,  showed  the  grave  full  of  earth  and  small 
stones.  Amongst  this  earth  some  of  the  pottery  and  bones  were 
found;  but  whether  the  urn  was  found  broken,  or  was  broken  by 
the  men,  I  could  not  satisfEtctorily  ascertain.  A  few  fragments  of 
pottery  were  also  stated  to  have  been  found  in  a  small  cist  about 
a  foot  across,  formed  of  upright  stones  with  a  small  cover.  This 
smaller  cist  was  built  at  a  distance  of  about  two  feet  on  the  south 
side  of  the  larger  one.  The  fragments  of  pottery,  when  I  saw 
them,  had  all  been  mixed  together,  and  I  could  obtain  no  informa- 
tion as  to  which  pieces  were  found  in  the  larger  grave,  and  which 
in  the  small  one."     (Extract  from  local  paper.) 

I  have  at  last  obtained  a  view  of  the  broken  urns  found  on 
Tynllwyfan  Farm,  in  the  parish  of  Llanfairfechan.  They  appear  to 
be  of  sunbarnt  clay,  but  are  in  such  a  fragmentary  condition  that  it 
is  difficult  to  make  anything  out  of  them.  There  is  the  bottom  of 
an  urn  measuring  2|  inches  broad,  with  about  an  inch  of  the  sides 


170 


ARGH^OLOOIOAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 


attached,  being  plain,  without  any  markings.  The  largest  piece  of 
the  sides  is  about  8  inches  long  by  1^  inch  wide.  The  ornament 
consists  of  undulating  bands  of  plain  surface  enclosed  between 
parallel  lines,  with  the  intermediate  spaces  filled  in  with  parallel 
strokes  scored  at  right  angles.  The  waved  bands  are  arranged  so 
that  the  tops  of  the  waves  are  next  each  other,  causing  the  breadth 
of  the  scored  surface  to  contract  and  dilate  alternately.  Mr.  Jones, 
the  owner  of  the  property,  unfortunately  sent  the  bottom  of  one  of 
the  urns  and  some  of  the  larger  pieces  to  have  a  facsimile  made  at 
the  potteries,  where  they  have  remained  so  long  that  they  cannot 
now  be  found.  The  tumulus  in  which  the  grave  was  discovered 
has  been  searched  without  any  further  result.  Mr.  Jones  found  on 
his  land  bordering  on  the  mountains  the  head  of  a  stoAe  hammer 


stone  Hammer  found  near  Llanfairfechan,  OhnmrTonahire. 

made  of  the  igneous  rock  of  the  district,  with  a  socket  bored  for 
the  handle,  It  weighs  lOJ  lbs.,  and  measures  10  in.  long  by  4^  in. 
wide  at  the  cutting  edge,  and  2^  in.  at  the  blunt  end. 

EiCHARD  Luck,  Llanfairfechan, 
Local  Sec.,  Carnarvonshire. 

Cup  at  Nanteos,  Cardioanbhirb  — At  the  Lampeter  Meeting  of 
the  Association,  in  1878,  a  cup  was  exhibited  by  G.  Powell,  Esq., 


AROHiEOLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUEBIES.  171 

about  wbicli  our  Local  Secretary  for  Radnorahire  sends  the  follow- 
ing particulars  :— 

*'  I  was  staying  at  Nanteos  for  a  few  days  last  year,  and  heard  a 
good  deal  about  the  celebrated  cup  which  is  continually  in  use 
throughout  the  district  by  people  who  have  faith  in  its  healing 
powers.  At  the  time  I  was  there  it  was  away.  The  borrower  is 
required  to  deposit  a  sum  of  money,  and  give  an  acknowledgment 
for  its  safe  return;  sometimes  the  deposit  takes  the  form  of  a 
watch  or  other  article  of  value.  There  are  a  number  of  the 
receipts  at  Nanteos,  some  of  them  rather  curious,  as  having  en- 
dorsed upon  them  the  nature  of  the  cure  effected.  When  the 
borrower  returns  the  cup,  he  of  course  gets  back  the  deposit  I 
did  not  see  the  cup,  but  1  am  told  it  is  of  dark  wood,  mi;ch  worn. 
The  tradition  is  that  it  came  from  Strata  Florida  Abbey,  and  it 
was  probably  a  mazeiMSup.  The  belief  in  its  curative  virtues 
extends  over  a  wide  district  of  Carmarthenshire  and  Cardiganshire, 
and  numbers  of  instances  of  cures  supposed  to  have  been  effected 
by  taking  food  and  medicine  out  of  the  cup  are  related  and  believed 
implicitly  by  the  small  farmers  and  peasantry.  At  Wellfield,  near 
Bmlth,  is  a  piece  of  blue  slate,  which  has  been  for  many  years  in 
the  possession  of  the  family  of  David  Thomas,  Esq.,  and  is,  equally 
with  the  Nanteos  cup,  believed  to  be  a  certain  cure  for  hydro- 
phobia. I  have  known  an  instance  of  a  boy  being  taken  some 
miles  to  have  a  dose  of  the  scraped  stone,  about  as  much  as  would 
cover  a  threepenny -bit,  given  him  to  cure  the  bite  of  a  mad  dog." 

Stephen  W.  Williams,  Local  Sea,  Badnorshire. 


Helmet  in  Llanidloes  Church,  Montgomebtshibe. — Many  years 
ago,  when  I  first  visited  Llanidloes,  I  observed  a  helmet  hanging  on  a 
bracket  in  the  chancel  of  the  old  church,  and  I  believe  I  have  some 
recollection  of  seeing  a  pair  of  spurs  and  gauntlets  with  it,  but  of 
this  I  am  not  quite  sure.  Llanidloes  Church  was  restored  a  few 
years  ago  by  the  late  Mr.  G.  E.  Street,  and  the  helmet  for  a  time 
disappeared.  Fortunately,  it  was  in  the  possession  of  the  church- 
warden, Mr.  S.  Ikin.  I  accordingly  recommended  that  it  should 
be  roplaced  in  the  church,  and  it  is  now  fixed  on  a  wrought  iron 
bracket,  presented  by  me,  at  the  west  end  of  the  nave,  near  the 
tower-arch.  I  think  it  probably  formed  part  of  a  suit  of  armour 
that  was  once  hung  in  the  church.  Its  date  appears  to  be  about 
1600  to  1650,  the  period  when  the  present  nave-roof  was  erected 
and  the  north  aisle  and  arcade  built,  the  latter  from  the  ruins  of 
Abbey  Cwm  Hir.  A  reference  to  the  parish  register  of  Llanidloes 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  if  still  in  existence,  might  enable  the 
ownership  of  the  helmet  to  be  traced. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  ascertain  if  there  are  any  other  Welsh 
churches  in  which  pieces  of  armour  are  to  be  found  now  hanging. 
At  Pilleth  Church,  in  Badnorshire,  there  is  still  a  broken  sword. 


172  ARCH£OLO0ICAL  NOTES  AND  QnERIBS. 

'which  I  reecned  from  the  neigfaboaring  blacksmith's  shop  when  the 
church  was  being  restored.  It  now  hangs  over  the  monoment  of 
Price  of  Pilleth.  At  Mynanghtj  Farmhouse,  in  the  same  pariah,  is 
a  breastplate  of  early  seventeenth  centnry  type,  probably  of  the  same 
date  as  the  sword.  > 

Stephen  Williau  Williaus,  Rhayader  Local  Sec. 


Hslinst  In  Llanidlon  Chnrch. 


Strata  Ploeida. — 1  have  jnst  read  with  great  interest  the  notice 
in  the  October  number  of  Archceologia  Cambrengit  as  to  the  excava- 
tions at  Strata  Florida  by  Mr.  Stephen  W.  WilliamB.  It  may  be 
of  interest  to  supply  one  or  two  facts  in  the  history  of  the  Abbey 
which  seem  to  have  escaped  him.  In  October  1401,  King  Henry 
IV  and  his  sou  Henry  Prince  of  Wales,  at  the  hwid  of  a  large 
army,  occapied  the  Abbey,  and  drove  oat  the  monks,  who  favoured 
Owen  Olendower  {Eveekam,  175).     The  buildings  were  spared,  but 

•  For  information  on  the  subject  of  funeral  achievementB,  see  M.  H. 
Bloxam'i  Companion  to  Ootkic  ArckiUcturt,  p.  £04.  Members  will  greatly 
obhge  b;  sending  notes  to  the  Editors  of  any  other  Welsh  examples. — Edd. 


LLAITBHIDZAir. 


ARCGLfiOLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES.  1 73 

the  services  were  disoon tinned  for  six  months.  Thej  were  re- 
established by  order  of  the  King,  dated  April  Ist,  1402  (Pat.  3, 
Henry  IV,  1,  2),  the  Abbey  being  placed  nnder  the  charge  of 
fhomas  Percy,  Earl  of  Worcester.  After  the  execution  of  the 
Earl  of  Worcester  at  Shrewsbury,  ^uly  23rd,  1403,  the  Abbey  still 
remained  in  the  King's  hands,  and  in  the  winter  of  1407,  after  the 
Prince  of  Wales  had  made  his  first  effort  to  recover  Aberystwith 
Castle  from  the  Welsh,  120  men-at-arms  and  360  archers  were 
quartered  in  the  Abbey,  "  to  keep  and  defend  the  same  from  the 
malice  of  those  rebels  who  had  not  submitted  themselves  to  the 
obedience  of  the  lord  the  King,  and  to  ride  after  and  give  battle  to 
the  rebels,  as  well  in  South  as  in  North  Wales"  (Devon.  luues  of 
the  Exchequer,  p.  307,  Nov.  16,  1407). 

Rochdale,  Feb.  Ist,  1888.  J.  H.  Wylib. 


Thomas  Pennant  at  Oxford. — ^Prof.  J.  Rhys  sends  the  following 
particulars  about  Thomas  Pennant,  which  have  been  communicated 
to  him  in  a  letter  from  Charles  L.  Shad  well,  Esq.,  of  Oriel  College, 
Oxford : — 

"Thomas  Pennant  matriculated  at  Queen's,  in  1744  In  1748, 
in  consequence  of  some  differences  with  the  College  authorities,  he 
and  several  others  removed  their  names,  or  were  sent  away.  Pen- 
nant then  migrated  to  Oriel,  May  1748,  and  his  name  remained  on 
our  books  till  April  1749.  During  that  time  he  appears  to  have 
been  in  residence  and  to  have  *  buttered'  regularly.  He  is  entered 
in  our  books  as  D.S.,  i.e.,  B.A.,  though  there  is  no  record  in  the 
University  registers  of  his  ever  having  taken  his  degree.  He 
received  the  degree  of  D.C.L.,  ^honoris  cau8d\  11th  May  1771. 

"  Charles  L.  Shadwell." 


Pre-Norman  Sculptured  Stone  and  Thirteenth  Century  Sepul- 
chral Slab  at  Llanrhidian,  Gower,  Glamorganshire. — Llanrhidian 
is  situated  in  Gower,  ten  miles  west  of  Swansea,  and  about  seven 
miles  from  Gower  Road  Station  on  the  South  Wales  Railway.  This 
place  was  visited  by  the  Association  on  the  25th  of  August  1886, 
during  the  Swansea  Meeting.^  The  church  consists  of  a  nave  and 
chancel  with  a  massive,  embattled  tower  at  the  west  end,  and  a 
south  porch.  The  nave  is  modem,  but  the  chancel  and  tower  are 
of  the  thirteenth  century,  with  Perpendicular  insertions.  The  Rev. 
J.  D.  Dayies,  of  Llanmadoc,  intends  to  give  a  full  account  of  the 
building,  and  a  nnmber  of  extinct  churches  in  the  parish,  in  the 
fourth  volume  of  his  history  of  West  Gower.  In  the  meantime  he 
has  kindly  forwarded  the  following  particulars  about  the  pre- 
Norman  sculptured  stone  and  the  thirteenth  century  sepulchral  slab 
at  Llanrhidian,  here  illustrated. 

^  Arch,  Camb.,  vol.  iii,  5th  Series^  p.  335. 


in 


AECH^OLOGICAL  BOTES  AND  QXTBEIE8, 


"The  Bcalptared  etone  in  Ltanrhidian  Chiircli  wa«  found  a  few 
yeara  ago,  almost  buried  out  of  sight,  beneath  the  aocamnlated  soil 
jnat  in  front  of  the  WOBtem  doorway  of  the  tower.  I  adhere  to  the 
opinion  that  it  i§  the  remains  of  an  old  atone  ooSa  witli  one  aide 
broken  off.  Otfaers  auppoae  it  to  bo  the  base  of  an  ancient  oross. 
The  carving  and  delineation  of  the  two  human  figures  (a  male  and 
a  female]  are  of  the  mdest  description,  mere  caricatures  of  human* 
ity,  BO  to  speak,  and  indicate  an  eariy  date.  I  quite  agree  with  you 
in  thinlciug'  it  to  be  pre-Norman." 


UiiilMiirebWineUi 


il.  HUthsw-i  OtMpel  io  tb«  Bn*  ifDnr.  fol.  It. 

.  at  the  broadest  end,  and 
D  the  top  is  remarkable.     The 


The  atone  is  7  ft.  long  by  1  ft.  5J  i 
1  ft^  wide  at  the  other.     The  hollow  in 

drawing  of  the  figures  correeponda  in  style  with  those  of  the  Book 
of  Deer,  a  copy  of  the  Gospels  in  the  Univeraity  Library  at  Cam- 
bridge, the  illuminations  of  which  were  execated  by  Scotic  acribea 
in  the  Monastery  of  Deer,  in  Aberdeenshire,  probably  in  the  ninth 
centnry.  This  precious  MS.  came  into  the  posseaeion  of  the  TJni- 
VOTsity  of  Cambridge  in  1715,  having  been  purchased  with  the  rest 


ARCH^OLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 


175 


of  the  library  of  Bishop  Moore ;  but  its  tme  character  remained 
unknown  until  the  late  Mr.  BradBhaw  brongbt  it  to  hght.  The 
Book  of  Seer  has  been  edited  by  Dr.  John  Stnart  for  the  Spalding 
Club  (Edinburgh,  1869),  where  a  complete  aoooant,  and  &caimileB 
of  the  illnminated  p^es,  will  be  fonnd. 
Dt.  Stuart  tells  us  that "  the  volume  (nn 
bered  I,  i,  b,  32)  is  of  small  but  rather  wide 
8to.  form,  of  86  folios.  It  contains  the 
Gospel  of  St.  Johu  and  portions  of  the 
other  three  Gospels,  the  fragment  of 
office  for  the  nsitation  of  the  sick,  the 
Apostles'  Creed,  aad  a  charter  of  David  I 
to  the  clerics  of  Deer.  The  notices,  in 
Gaelic,  of  grante  made  to  the  Monastery  of 
Deer  are  written  on  blank  pages  or  on  ' 
margins."  The  miniatnre  here  illustrated 
is  folio  lb  of  the  MS.,  and  facea  the"  Liber 
generationis"  page  commencing  St  Mat- 
thew's QospeL  The  miniature  is  divided 
into  fonr  panels  with  a  rosette  in  the  cen- 
tre. The  two  upper  figures  appear  to 
intended  for  angels,  and  the  two  lower  ones 
for  saints  holding  books.  The  figures  have 
no  arms,  and  the  bodies  of  the  angels  are 
represented  by  a  rectangle  marked  with  two 
.  diagonal  bauds  going  from  comer  to  comer, 
thus  exactly  corresponding  with  the  sculp- 
tures on  the  Llanrbidian  stone.  This  par- 
ticularly barbarous  treatment  of  the  human 
figore  occnrB  in  several  of  the  other  miuia- 
tnree  of  the  Book  of  Deer. 

One  of  the  most  carious,  features  of  Irish 
art  is  the  extreme  badness  of  the  figure- 
drawing  when  contrasted  with  the  b^uty 
of  the  ornamental  details.  This  was  partly 
dne  to  want  of  technical  knowledge,  but 
also  to  the  bet  that  the  artist  was  a  deco- 
tator  first  of  all,  and  wherever  a  blank 
space  presented  itself,  he  did  not  attempt 
to  imitate  the  oolonr  or  texture  of  the  ma- 
terial, but  preferred  to  fill  it  in  with  geo- 
metrical patterns.  Thus  the  drapery  of  the 
figures  is  oflen  converted  into  ornament 
by  making  the  folds  of  difierent  colours, 
separated  by  two  or  three  parallel  mai^nal  ThirtMnth  Cmttur  ami 
lines  of  varying  thickness.  In  the  minia-  in«Giwd«n  neMiiMrt 
tnroB  of  the  Book  of  Deer  the  ornament 

occupying  the  place  of  drapery  is  exceedingly  rude,  and  consist* 
simply  of  two  oross-lines ;  but  the  principle  is  the  same 


176  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

more  elaborate,  as  in  the  case  of  the  tnnic  worn  by  Christ  on  the 
bronze  cmcifixion  in  the  Museam  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy  at 
Dnblin,  or  on  the  slab  fonnd  in  the  Chapel  on  the  Calf  of  Man.* 
The  scalptnred  stone  at  Llanrhidian  thus  exhibits  a  well  known 
characteristic  of  early  Irish  art,  and  its  occurrence  in  Wales  is  pro- 
bably due  to  Irish  influence.  Its  date  is  possibly  of  the  ninth  or 
tenth  century. 

The  Rev.  J.  D.  Davies  supplies  the  following  information  about 
the  thirteenth  century  gravestone  at  Llanrhidian : — 

"  It  was  dug  up  in  the  ruins  of  an  old  house  in  the  village,  in 
1885,  and  had  been  placed  upside  down  to  form  the  step  of  a  door- 
way. Many  blocks  of  freestone,  which  had  once  been  portions  of 
window-heads  and  door-jambs,  were  also  found  in  the  rubbish,  lead- 
ing to  the  supposition  that  a  building  of  some  consequence  (perhaps 
a  small  church)  must  formerly  have  stood  here.  There  is  an  in- 
scription ;  but  the  first  two  words  are  so  worn  as  to  be  illegible. 
The  letters  are  Lombardic  capitals,  and  the  language  Norman 
French.  From  the  words  and  letters  it  is  quite  easy  to  restore  the 
original  inscription,  which  agrees  with  a  formula  much  in  vogue  at 
the  time,  many  examples  being  given  in  Weever's  Funeral  Monu- 
ments.     The  reading  is  as  follows  :— 

per  ...  oyst  tci 

diev  sa  alme  eyt 

m[erci]  am[e]n 

The  human  head  in  relief,  carved  as  if  emerging  from  the  stone,  is 
not  an  unusual  form  of  thirteenth  century  memorial.  The  arrange- 
ment of  the  hair  seems  to  indicate  a  priest.  The  rest  of  the  stone 
is  quite  flat,  with  bevelled  edges,  and  its  taperiug  shape  points  to 
the  same  period.'' 

J.  BoMiLLT  Allen. 

Early  Inscribed  Stones  visited  during  the  Llanrwst  Meetino. 
— Mr.  Worthington  G.  Smith  made  several  drawings  of  early  in- 
scribed stones  visited  by  the  Association  during  the  Llanrwst 
Meeting  in  1882,  and  as  these  were  not  published  in  the  Journal  at 
the  time,  an  opportunity  is  now  taken  of  doing  so.  The  first  is  at 
Pentre  Yoelas,  in  Denbighshire,  which  lies  eight  miles  south-east 
of  Llanrwst,  and  is  about  six  miles  from  Bettws-y-Coed.  Prof. 
I.  0.  Westwood  gives  the  following  particulars  in  his  Lapidarium 
Wallice  (p.  201,  and  pi.  Ixxxvii,  fig.  1).  "In  a  little  coppice 
behind  the  old  mansion  of  Pentre  Yoelas,  placed  on  a  small  tumulus 
called  the  Yoel,  stands  a  stone  pillar,  rough  and  unhewn,  about  8 
feet  high,  2  feet  broad,  and  1  foot  thick,  bearing  an  inscription 
(carved  across  towards  the  top  of  the  stone),  very  difficult  to 
decipher,  both  on  account  of  the  ill  shape  of  the  characters,  and  of 
the  numerous  longitudinal  fractures  of  the  stone,  and  of  which  my 

1  See  J.  R.  Allen's  Christian  Symboliwn,  p.  143. 


ARCH^OLOQICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES.  177 

figure  is  aa  accnrttte  a  cop^  ae  I  hare  been  able  to  mnke  of  it,  both 
by  my  actnal  inspection  and  dntningB  of  tbo  monnnient  in  Jnly 

1816,  and  nnmeroas  robbings Admitting  the  difficulty  of 

reading  the  upper  portion  of  the  inscription,  it  ie,  I  think,  clear 
that  the  bottom  line  is  to  be  read 

Level  ini  prceps  hie  hn. — , 
altbongh  the  last  tiro  words  are  doubtful.". 

The  next  stone  is  at  Gwvtherin,  in  Denbighshire,  fire  miles  dae 
east  of  LlBarwst.  Prof.  Westnood  thas  deBcribes  it  in  his  Lapidn- 
rium  Wallice  (p.  203,  pi.  Izzxvii,  fig.  2).     "  On  the  north  side  of  the 


Slonn  nJtJi  lBeJ>«d  Crouei  in  LluiKemieH'  ChDrcbfArd.  Denbighshire. 

church  are  fonr  rade  npright  atones  about  two  feet  high,  placed  in 
a  row,  the  most  westerly  of  them  bearing  an  inHcription  here 
figured  from  my  rubbing  and  drawing  (Arek.  Camb.,  1858,  p.  405), 
which  is  to  be  read 


178  ARCH^OLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

YINNEMAOLI  FIL  SENBMAGLI, 

the  forms  of  several  of  the  letters  and  the  oonjanction  of  the  m  and 
A  agreeing  with  the  Brochmael  inscription  (fig.  3).  I  presume  the 
memorial  may  bo  referred  to  the  sixth  or  seventh  centnrY." 

The  last  stones  to  be  mentioned  are  in  Llangerniew  Charchyard, 
situated  in  Denbighshire,  six  miles  north-east  of  Llanrwst.  They 
do  not  appear  to  be  known  to  Prof.  Westwood,  as  they  are  not 
referred  to  in  his  work  on  the  sabject.  The  appearance  of  the 
monnments  will  be  understood  from  Mr.  Worthington  G.  Smith's 
woodcut.  The  stones  are  not  inscribed,  but  have  incised  crosses  of 
early  form  near  the  tops  of  each. 

J.  RoMiLLT  Allen. 


Strata  Florida  Abbey.— Mr.  Stephen  W.  Williams  informs  us 
that  it  is  his  intention  to  resume  the  excavations  at  Strata  Florida 
Abbey  in  the  month  of  May  of  the  present  year.  The  amount  of 
the  subscriptions  already  promised  is  about  £90,  which  will  probably 
be  sufficient  to  clear  out  the  ruins  of  the  Abbey  church,  but  it  will 
allow  no  margfin  for  taking  care  of  the  remains  affcer  they  have 
been  uncovered.  It  is  ther^ore  earnestly  hoped  that  members  will 
make  further  contributions  to  assist  in  bringing  the  work  to  a 
successful  termination.  Mr.  Williams  has  every  expectation  of 
making  some  very  interesting  discoveries,  as  there  is  a  local  tradi- 
tion that  the  tombs  of  the  Welsh  princes  are  in  the  nave  of  the 
church. 

The  Editors. 


179 


laebietDS!  anH  Botittfi  of  Sootis. 


H18TOBT  or  Wrexham.    By  Alfred  Keobard  Palmer,  F.C.S. 

Ah  excellent  account  of  Wrexham  Chnrch  forms  the  second  instal- 
ment  of  the  history  of  the  town  and  parish  so  well  commenced  by 
Mr.  Palmer.  The  essay  on  Ancient  Tenures  in  Bromfield,  noticed 
in  a  recent  nnmber,  and  intended  to  serve  as  an  introduction  to  this 
work,  exhibited  Mr.  Palmer's  ingenuity  and  the  wide  extent  of  his 
research;  and  the  present  volnme  deserves  more  than  ordinary 
commendation  for  the  care  and  industry  with  which  its  pages  have 
been  compiled. 

A  long  and  interesting  chapter  relates  the  history  of  the  struc- 
ture of  the  church  and  the  incidents  connected  with  it,  in  the  form 
of  a  continuous  narrative,  from  the  earliest  period  to  the  recent 
restoration  in  1867,  and  brings  together  all  the  scattered  notices  to 
be  found  before  the  parish  books  begin,  as  well  as  the  fuller  in- 
formation which,  during  the  last  two  centuries,  those  records  are 
able  to  supply. 

The  origin  of  Wrexham  is  unknown.  It  is  first  mentioned  in  an 
early  charter  of  Madoc  ap  Griffith  Maelor,  who  succeeded  his 
father  in  1190,  and  was  buried  at  Yalle  Crucis  in  1286.  This 
charter,  as  is  clearly  shown  in  the  Arch,  Camh,  for  1866,  was  the 
foundation-charter  of  that  Abbey,  and  it  gave  to  the  monks,  along 
with  other  lands  situate  elsewhere,  certain  lands  at  "Wrecbessam", 
which  Mr.  Palmer  identifies  with  the  township  that  now  bears  the 
name  of  Wrexham  Abbot. 

In  1220  Reyner,  Bishop  of  St«  Asaph,  granted  a  moiety  of  the 
Church  of  Wrexham  (''medietatem  ecclesin  de  Wrexham")  to  the 
Abbot  and  Convent  of  Yalle  Crucis;  and  the  second  moiety  waa 
added  in  1227  by  Bishop  Abraham,  his  successor.  Mr.  Palmer 
plausibly  conjectures  that  the  rectorial  tithes  had  been  previously 
detached  from  the  living,  and  allotted  in  equal  portions  to  two  nou' 
resident  sinecurists ;  and  that  one  of  these  sinecures  became  vacant 
in  1220  and  the  other  in  1227,  when  the  above  grants  were  made. 
It  is  certain  that  from  the  early  part  of  the  thirteenth  century  the 
rectory  of  Wrexham  was  appropriated  to  the  Abbey,  and  that  it 
formed  a  portion  of  the  possessions  of  the  house  up  to  the  time  of  its 
dissolution,  when  the  rectorial  tithes,  with  the  manor  of  Wrexham, 
were  leased  by  Henry  the  Eighth  to  Sir  William  Pickering.  The 
numerous  lay  owners  to  whom  the  tithes  of  the  different  townships 
belonged  at  the  time  of  the  commutation  are  enumerated  by  Mr« 
-Palmer  in  an  appendix. 

The  right  to  the  patronage  of  the  vicarage  of  Wrexham^  after  a 
violent  contest  with  the  monks,  who  claimed  it  as  their  chapel,  was 
6th  bib.,  vol.  v.  is 


180  REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 

Bocnred  eventnally  for  tlie  see  by  the  vigour  and  determination  of 
Bishop  Anian.  In  the  '*  Index  Llyfr  Coch  S.  Asaph",  a  document 
is  described  which  Mr.  Palmer,  following  a  suggestion  made  by 
Archdeacon  Thomas,  assigns  to  the  year  1247,  and  supposes  to 
relate  to  the  vicarage.  It  is  intituled  '*Renunciatio  juris  patronatus 
ad  ecclesiam  de  Wrexham  per  Madocnm  filinm  Gruffith".  No  date 
is  given,  and,  as  Madoc  ap  Qxiffith  died  in  1236,  it  cannot  be  later 
than  that  year.  There  is  no  transcript  of  this  document;  and 
nothing  is  known  about  it  beyond  the  title.  We  are  inclined  to 
believe  that  it  related  to  the  rectory  rather  than  to  the  vicarage  of 
Wrexham,  and  that  it  preceded  in  point  of  time  the  grants  which 
were  made  by  the  two  bishops  to  the  Abbey. 

The  known  facts  all  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  a  church  had 
been  built  before  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century,  and  that  it  occu- 
pied very  nearly  the  same  situation  as  the  present  edifice.  Mr. 
Palmer,  who  entertains  this  opinion,  is  disposed  to  believe  that  an 
earlier  church  had  existed  previously  on  another  site.  There 
seems  to  be  no  evidence  on  the  subject;  and  the  actual  history 
commences  with  the  thirteenth  century,  and  with  a  church  which 
the  monks  of  Yalle  Crucis  found  standing  when  they  came  into 
possession  of  Wrexham  Abbot. 

Mr.  Palmer  discredits  the  tradition  that  this  church  was  dedi- 
cated to  St.  Silin.  Professor  Bees,  in  his  History  of  the  Welsh 
Saints,  has  adhered  to  it;  and  he  has  pointed  out  an  error  of 
Browne  Willis  which  has  furnished  the  strongest  argument  against 
St.  Silin.  In  assigning  the  1st  of  October  to  St  Silin,  Browne 
Willis  has  unquestionably  misled  his  editor.  The  festival  of  that 
saint  is  September  1st,  tiie  same  day  as  the  festival  of  St.  Giles, 
and  "  the  observation  of  the  wake"  lends  equal  authority  to  either 
of  the  two  claims.  The  old  tradition  ascribes  the  dedication  to  St. 
Silin,  and  it  is  easy  to  understand  how  the  more  celebrated  person- 
age, whose  festival  coincided  and  whose  Latin  name  appears  to 
have  been  the  same,  may  have  usurped  the  dignity  of  the  first 
patron  as  early  as  1494,  which  is  the  date  of  the  will  quoted  by 
Mr.  Palmer  attributing  the  dedication  to  St.  GKles.  It  has  been 
clearly  shown  by  Professor  Rhys  that  the  dedications  of  Welsh 
churches  have  been  often  altered,  and  that  local  saints  were  fre- 
quently displaced  to  make  room  for  more  illustrious  patrons.  And 
it  would  be  in  complete  accordance  with  what  was  oustomarv  if  St. 
Giles  at  some  early  period  assumed  the  place  that  had  originallj 
been  occupied  by  St.  Silin.  Mr.  Palmer's  conjecture  that  the 
church  was  first  dedicated  to  St.  Mary  appears  to  be  unsupported ; 
and  it  is  difficult  to  suppose  that  the  greatest  of  the  saints,  who 
was  often  substituted  for  the  first  patron  when  churches  were  re- 
dedicated,  should  have  lost  an  honour  she  possessed  at  Wrexham. 

The  history  of  the  next  three  centuries  is  meagre  in  the  extreme, 
and  hardly  anything  is  known  aboat  the  builders  of  the  church. 
Two  great  casualties  are  recorded.  The  steeple  was  blown  down 
on  St  Catherine's  Day,  1331,  or  1330  according  to  other  autho- 


REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OF  BOOKS.  181 

rities,  wliich  se^m  to  be  more  reliable,  when  the  whole  edifice  is 
said  to  have  been  rebuilt ;  and,  rather  more  than  a  century  later, 
the  church  then  existing,  or  a  great  part  of  it,  was  bumi  This 
second  catastrophe  occurred  in  1457.  In  order  to  rebuild  the 
church  an  indulgence  of  forty  days  for  five  years  was  granted  to  all 
who  contributed  to  the  work;  and,  according  to  Peimant,  this 
second  rebuilding  was  finished  by  1472. 

The  church  thus  rebuilt  included  considerable  portions  of  the' 
previous  edifice ;  but  the  nave  had  no  clerestory,  and  there  was  no 
structural  chancel,  the  ritual  choir  being  formed  by  screening  off 
the  eastern  portion  of  the  nave :  an  arrangement  which  is  still 
foond  in  the  neighbouring  and  nearly  contemporaneous  church  at 
Grresford. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  next  century  very  important  additions 
were  made  to  the  edifice.  A  chancel  was  built  beyond  the  east 
window,  from  which  the  tracery  and  mullions  were  removed,  and 
which  thus  became  the  chancel-arch.  A  clerestory  was  added  to 
the  nave,  and  the  noble  tower,  by  far  the  most  remarkable  portion 
of  the  church,  was  built.  The  nave  was  prolonged  westward 
beyond  the  end  of  the  aisles  to  meet  the  tower;  and  this  prolongation 
of  the  nave,  which  Mr.  Palmer  appropriately  calls  the  antenave,  de-> 
serves  to  be  regarded,  like  the  chancel,  as  an  evidence  of  the  skill  and 
boldness  of  the  architects.  Mr.  Palmer  shows  that  the  tower, 
which  is  usually  said  to  have  been  finished  in  1507,  was  still  in 
progress  in  1518,  and  that  it  was  not  finally  completed  in  1520. 

These  conclusions  are  confirmed  by  a  careful  examination  of  the 
architecture,  which,  speaking  generally,  is  the  best  evidence  of  the 
history  of  the  fabric. 

"  The  Holy  Tower",  a  name  which  seems  to  have  been  given  to 
this  majestic  steeple,  was  doubtless  entirely  finished  when  Leland, 
about  the  year  1537,  visited  Wrexham,  "  the  only  market  town  of 
Welsch  Maylor,  having  a  goodly  Church  Collegiate  as  one  of  the 
fairest  in  North  Wales",  though,  as  he  adds,  *'ther  longgid  no 
prebender  to  it".  Bishop  Parfew  was  then  endeavouring  to  remove 
his  see  from  St.  Asaph  to  Wrexham,  and  it  is  possible  that  steps 
had  been  taken  to  effect  his  purpose  which  justified  the  use  of  the 
term  "  collegiate". 

Fifty  years  after  Leland,  "Trim  Wrexham  Town,  a  pearl  of 
Denbighshire",  is  spoken  of  by  Thomas  Churchyard  in  his 
Worihinesse  of  Wales.  He  praises  the  "  fayre  church",  describing 
it  and  the  tower.  And  he  mentions  several  monuments  in  the 
•*  Queer"  which  are  no  longer  found  there. 

Writing  not  very  long  after  Churchyard,  the  learned  Camden 
speaks  of  Wrexham  as  "remarkable  for  its  very  elegant  steeple 
and  for  its  organ".  This  organ  would  seem  to  have  been  erected 
after  Churchyard's  visit.  And  there  are  several  other  notices  of  it 
which  Mr.  Palmer  mentions.  In  the  Civil  Wars  it  was  broken  by 
the  soldiers  of  the  Parliament,  when  considerable  damage  to  the 
church  unquestionably  was  done. 


182  REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 

Mr.  Palmer  prints  an  order  of  Quarter  Sessions  held  at  Wrex- 
ham Jaly  11,  1648,  which  recites  that  the  decay  and  want  of 
repair  of  the  ohnrch,  and  the  want  of  having  had  churchwardens 
and  other  parish  officers  for  the  term  of  about  five  years,  had  been 
presented  by  the  grand  jury;  and  goes  on  to  order  that  church- 
wardens and  other  officers  shall  be  elected  on  the  23rd  day  of  the 
same  month,  and  appoints  three  of  the  justices,  whose  names  are 
mentioned  in  the  order,  to  be  aiding  and  assisting  the  new  church- 
wardens in  and  about  the  assessing  or  raising  of  a  competent  sum 
of  £120  forthwith,  "by  way  of  levions  or  otherwise  upon  the 
parishioners  of  the  said  parish  for  the  aforesayd  repayers,  and  like- 
wise to  take  paines  in  overseeing  the  said  workes  about  the  said 
repayers  to  be  well  and  sufficiently  done  and  performed". 

Whatever  may  have  been  done  under  this  order,  which  shows 
some  of  the  results  of  the  struggle  which  had  just  concluded,  many 
repairs  were  necessary  at  the  restoration  of  Charles  the  Second. 
An  account  of  these  repairs,  and  of  the  alterations  then  made  in 
the  arrangement  of  the  interior  of  the  church,  is  given  by  Mr. 
Palmer. 

Extensive  changes  in  the  arrangements  were  again  made  in  the 
early  part  of  the  next  century  at  the  expense  of  Elihu  Yale,  the 
founder  of  a  College  which  has  preserved  his  name.  Mr.  Yale's 
improvements  and  his  gifts,  with  the  exception  of  the  iron  chancel- 
screen  and  a  picture  still  hanging  in  the  church,  have  all  of  them 
passed  away.  And  the  various  galleries  and  pews,  which  were 
erected  at  different  times,  and  whose  erection  Mr.  Palmer  has 
properly  recorded  as  forming  part  of  the  history  of  the  structure, 
happily  disappeared  when  the  church  was  restored  in  1867. 

The  ancient  font,  after  a  long  absence,  returned  to  its  proper 
place  in  1842.  The  parishioners,  at  some  distant  period,  had 
removed  it,  and,  after  various  adventures,  it  had  found  a  refuge  in 
a  garden  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Wrexham,  where  it  stood  for 
many  years,  and  was  well  taken  care  of  by  the  owner  until  a 
change  occurred  in  public  feeling,  and  he  was  solicited  by  the 
Vicar  to  allow  it  to  be  taken  back  aofain  to  the  church. 

Among  the  articles  belonging  to  the  church  there  is  a  very  early 
chalice,  described  by  Mr.  Cripps  as  "  a  specimen  of  great  rarity". 
Mr.  Palmer  gives  an  engraving  of  this  chalice.  It  belongs  appa- 
rently to  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  or  the  end  of  the 
century  preceding;  but  it  probably  became  the  property  of  the 
parishioners  by  purchase  shortly  before  1669. 

The  original  church  plate  does  not  seem  to  have  survived  the 
lawlessness  of  the  Rebellion ;  but  there  is  a  brazen  eagle  which  was 
given  to  the  altar  in  1524,  when  it  is  said  to  have  cost  six  pounds. 
The  admirable  bells  by  Budhall,  ten  in  number,  bear  the  date 
1726 ;  they  jare  exceedingly  melodious,  and  worthy  to  occupy  their 
place  in  "  th|B  Holy  Tower". 

In  additio;;!  to  tbis  historical  narrative,  Mr.  Palmer  has  collected 
a  great  variety  ,of  ^|6;wation.     He  has  told  all  that  can  be  ascer- 


REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OF  BOOKS.  183 

tained  of  the  Ticars  and  onrates  of  Wrexham,  and  he  has  compiled 
lists,  which  are  copiously  annotated,  of  the  churchwardens  and 
parish  clerks  whose  names  have  heen  recorded.  This  part  of  his 
book  is  a  monument  of  his  care  and  industry,  and  the  numenms 
biographical  details  contained  in  it  must  be  highly  interesting  to 
persons  who  are  acquainted  with  the  neighbourhood. 

There  is  another  feature  of  his  book  which  should  form  a  portion 
of  every  parochial  history,  and  with  regard  to  which  imitation  is 
comparatively  easy.  He  has  copied  all  the  sepulchral  inscriptions 
in  the  church,  and  a  number  of  those  in  the  churchyard  and  in  the 
cemetery ;  and  for  setting  this  excellent  example  he  deserves  the 
thanks  of  every  antiquary  and  genealogist. 

The  tombs  seen  by  Churchyard  have  disappeared.  A  recumbent 
effigy  of  Hugh  Bellot,  Bishop  of  Chester,  who  died  in  1596,  is  the 
only  monument  anterior  to  the  Civil  War.  In  the  Archoeologta 
Camhrensis  for  1879,  and  again  in  his  volume  on  Ecclesiasiical 
Vestments,  Mr.  Bloxam  has  described  the  peculiar  character  of  this 
monument.  The  mural  monument  of  Sir  Richard  Lloyd,  who 
died  in  1676,  is  one  of  the  next  in  point  of  date.  It  bore  no  other 
inscription,  except  the  letters  "R.  LL",  until  1877,  when  a  slab 
with  a  suitable  inscription  was  inserted  by  the  late  Mr.  Wynne  of 
Peniarth  and  Mr.  Longueville,  two  of  his  descendants. 

Mrs.  Maiy  Middleton,  the  only  sister  of  the  last  baronet  of  Chirk 
Castle,  is  commemorated  by  a  magnificent  monument,  now  removed 
from  the  chancel  to  the  north  aisle,  the  work  of  Boubiliac,  and 
deserving  much,  if  not  quite  all,  of  the  great  admiration  it  has 
received. 

These  are  the  only  monuments  inside  the  church  that  require  a 
notice.  A  gigantic  figure  of  a  knight  now  standing  in  the  porch 
was  found  buried  in  the  ground,  when  the  foundations  of  the 
churchyard  gates  were  being  dug,  in  the  commencement  of  the  last 
century.  There  is  an  inscription  running  round  the  border  of  the 
shield,  which  Pennant  failed  to  make  out,  but  which  Mr.  Palmer 
.  reads  as  "Hie  jacet  Keneverike  ap  Hovel". 

The  tomb  of  Elihu  Yale,  in  the  churchyard,  has  a  curious  epi- 
taph, not  quite  original,  and  one  that  has  been  often  quoted.  He 
died  in  1721,  and  his  tomb  was  restored  by  the  authorities  of  Tale 
College  in  1874. 

Mr.  Palmer  has  a  full  account  of  the  Wrexham  charities,  which 
contains  some  interesting  particulars;  and  he  devotes  a  consider- 
able space  to  what  he  calls  the  *' Books  of  Record  of  the  Parish'*. 
Of  these  Books  the  Registers  are  the  most  important,  and  we 
agree  with  him  in  wishing  that  the  whole  series  could  be  tran- 
scribed and  printed.  The  historical  value  of  the  parish  registers 
throughout  the  country  is  unfortunately  very  little  understood,  or 
official  copies  would  have  long  since  been  made  compulsory,  to 
obviate  the  loss,  which  has  so  often  happened,  of  the  originals. 
For  reasons  which  he  alleges,  Mr.  Palmer  has  relinquished  the 
intention  he  first  announced  of  giving  extracts  from  the  registers^ 


184  BE  VIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OP  BOOKS. 

and  he  confines  his  observations  to  a  brief  accoiint  of  them,  from 
-v^hich  it  appears  that  the  oldest  existing  register  covers  the  period 
between  June  1618  and  May  1644,  and  that  the  second  register 
commences  in  October  1662.  There  are  other  gaps  in  the  entries, 
bnt  after  May  1670  they  are  continued  regularly. 

The  earliest  churchwardens'  book  now  existing  commences  in 
1661.  Books  of  Wrexham  Parish  of  a  much  earlier  date  are 
known  to  have  been  preserved  at  Chirk  Castle  in  1685,  but  none  of 
them  can  now  be  found.  Mr.  Palmer  gives  very  copious  extracts 
from  the  books  kept  since  1661,  some  of  which  have  unfortunately 
been  lost;  and  many  of  these  extracts  confirm  and  explain  his 
narrative  of  events.  Some  circumstances  of  more  general  interest 
are  from  time  to  time  recorded,  and  serve  to  illustrate  the  manners 
and  customs  of  former  times. 

In  the  seventeenth  century  there  is  strong  evidence  that  coffins 
were  not  used  generally,  and  that  burials  took  place  without  them. 
The  minutes  of  a  vestry  held  in  April  1663  contain  an  order  that 
the  grave-maker  shall  have  a  shilling  for  making  a  grave  in  the 
ehurch,  and  sixpence  for  one  in  the  churchyard,  "  unless  y*  p'ty  to 
be  buried  hath  a  coffin,  then  the  grave-maker  is  to  have  zii*^." 
'*  Hee  that  keepe  y*  doggs  out  of  church''  is,  by  the  same  vestry, 
ordered  to  have  28.  6d.  quarterly,  and  5«.  for  arrears.  At  the 
same  date  'Hhe  woman  that  sweeps  y*  Church",  whose  name 
appears  to  have  been  Blanche  Davies,  had  168.  paid  quarterly;  and 
the  sexton's  wages  were  AOe.  yearly,  and  20«.  for  attending  to  the 
clock  and  ringing  the  nine  o'clock  belL 

In  considering  these  salaries,  which  do  not  seem  to  be  excessive, 
the  then  rate  of  wages  should  be  remembered.  In  1662  '*  BiOwland 
the  joyner"  was  paid  1«.  a  day,  and  labourers  were  paid  Sd.;  a 
master  carpenter  and  a  mason  received  Is.  6d.  each,  while  another 
carpenter  had  20.,  and  his  man  l^.  In  one  year — it  should  be 
added  that  it  was  nearly  two  centuries  ago — an  allowance  was 
made  to  the  churchwardens  "  for  paieing  for  writing  their  accounts, 
beiug  y*  they  are  all  Illiterate". 

There  are  occasional  acts  of  parish  benevolence  recorded.  Thus, 
in  January  1662,  the  churchwardens  gave  1^.  to  Mr.  Master,  "a 
poor  Minister" ;  and  in  October  1663  they  gave  2«.  "  to  Mr. 
Ohristomer  Ffitch  Williams,  who  hath  bin  a  Comet  of  horse  for  the 
Kinge,  being  now  distressed  in  his  Retume  to  his  owne  cuntrey,  by 
Mr.  Smith's  advice  unto  ns  by  the  Becomendation  of  severall 
Justessis  of  the  peace".  The  usual  payments  for  hedgehogs  and 
for  foxes  are,  of  course,  found.  The  number  of  the  former  seems 
to  have  been  enormous :  237  were  paid  for  in  1732.  These  harm- 
less little  creatures  were  the  especial  aversion  of  the  church- 
wardens of  the  last  century. 

An  "  umberellow",  which  must  then  have  been  a  novelty,  was 
purchased  for  a  guinea  in  1 745.  It  was  no  doubt  for  the  use  of 
the  clergy  at  funerals.  And  in  1765  Is.  6d.  was  paid  for  mending 
"y*  Humbrelo".  Umbrellas  are  said  to  have  been  first  used  in 
the  streets  of  London  by  Jonas  Hanway,  who  died  in  1 786. 


REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OF  BOOKS.  185 

Other  entries  show  tliat  there  used  to  be  a  rosh-bearing  at 
Wrexham,  and  that  the  service  of  the  Plygain  was  regularly  cele- 
brated. Many  notices  are  found  of  the  sale  and  the  letting  of  the 
pews.  And  there  are  very  numerous  accounts  of  payments  made 
and  of  relief  given  by  the  vestry,  which  throw  considerable  light 
on  the  former  condition  of  the  poor. 

All  this,  and  much  further  information,  will  be  found  in  Mr. 
Palmer's  pages,  which  we  now  take  leave  of,  with  many  thanks  to 
him  for  the  pleasure  and  instruction  their  perusal  has  afforded  us, 
and  with  the  hope  that  he  will  shortly  complete  his  undertaking, 
and  present  the  public  with  the  remaining  portions  of  his  very 
interesting  History  of  Wrexham, 


Ludlow  Town  and  Neiqhbotjehood. — Mr.  G.  Wolley,  of  Ludlow, 
has  sent  us  the  prospectus  of  a  book  he  is  about  to  publish  on 
Ludlow  Town  and  Neighbourhood,  by  Mr.  Oliver  Baker,  who  has 
furnished  nearly  sixty  original  drawings  and  an  etching  to  illus- 
trate the  work.  There  are  nineteen  chapters  dealing  with  the 
history,  antiquities,  and  geology  of  this  most  interesting  locality. 
The  engravings  include  views  of  Ludlow  Castle,  the  parish  church, 
BromGeld  Priory,  Stokesay  Castle,  Stanton  Lacy  Church,  and  several 
specimens  of  the  old  half-timbered  houses  in  the  district.  The 
illustration  of  the  Old  Bell,  at  Ludford,  on  the  specimen-page,  is 
boldly  sketched,  and  if  the  rest  of  the  drawings  are  equally  good, 
the  artistic  value  of  the  work  will  be  considerable.  We  shall  hope  to 
review  Ludlow  Town  and  Neighbourhood  on  a  future  occasion. 


"  Ctmbu  Fu":  Notes  and  Queries  relating  to  the  Past  History 
OT  Wales  and  the  Border  Counties. — Cymru  Fu  was  established 
in  the  Weekly  Mail  (Cardiff)  in  July  1887,  upon  the  demise  of  the 
Bed  Dragon^  with  the  object  of  continuing  the  good  work  of  research 
into  the  antiquities  and  the  past  history  of  the  Cymry,  conducted 
with  such  marked  ability  in  that  magazine  by  Mr.  James  Harris. 
The  majority  of  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  who  so  cordially  assisted 
Mr.  Harris  in  this  work  have,  with  many  others  of  equal  standing 
in  and  out  of  the  Principality,  rallied  round  the  new  publication, 
which  the  Editor  has  no  reason  to  believe  will  fall  short  of  its  pro- 
genitor either  in  usefulness  or  trustworthiness.  The  literary  success 
of  the  undertaking,  however,  can  only  be  secured  by  the  generous 
assistance  of  contributors,  and  financially  by  the  enrolment  of  a  large 
number  of  subscribers.  The  Editor,  therefore,  appeals  to  all,  whether 
contributors  or  otherwise,  to  co-operate  with  him  in  his  endeavours 
to  place  on  record  all  that  is  worth  preserving  in  the  history  of  the 
Principality,  and  to  the  rescue  of  much  that  is  infinitely  valuable, 
before  it  is  swept  away  by  the  advancing  tide  of  education.  It  is 
proposed  to  issue  Parts  each  half  year,  in  January  and  in  July,  the 
subscription  being  5$.  per  annum,  post  free. 


186 


CAMBRIAN  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

The  following  letter  has  been  addressed  by  the  Editors  to  the  Local 
Secretaries,  with  the  view  of  indacing  them  to  perforin  their  duties 
more  efficiently  than  has  yet  been  the  case.  The  result  of  the  Local 
Secretaries  not  reportinG^  new  discoveries  immediately  to  the  Edi- 
tors is  that  papers  on  Welsh  archaeology  which  should  by  rights 
appear  in  the  Archasologia  Cambrensis  in  the  first  instance,  are 
secured  for  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  and  of  other 
loeal  Societies  whose  officials  are  more  energetic. 

^Deab  Sib, — It  is  yery  desirable  that  the  organisation  of  the 
Association  should  be  made  as  efficient  as  possible,  and  since  this 
depends  to  a  large  extent  on  the  exertions  of  the  Local  Secretaries, 
we  shall  feel  greatly  obliged  if  you  will  kindly  endeavour  to  assist 
the  Editors,  (1),  by  reporting  any  new  discoveries  in  your  neigh- 
bo«irhood ;  (2),  by  sending  cuttings  from  local  newspapers  contain- 
ing matter  relating  to  Welsh  history  or  archaeology ;  (3),  by  point- 
ing out  objects  of  interest  which  have  not  yet  been  noticed  in  the 
Journal,  and  getting  photographs,  drawings,  and  descriptions  of 
them  ;  (4),  by  calling  attention  to  any  acts  of  Vandalism  you  may 
have  heard  of;  (5),  by  giving  information  about  proposed  or  com- 
pleted restorations  of  churches;  (6),  by  putting  persons  willing  to 
help  in  the  work  of  the  Association  (whether  members  or  not)  in 
communication  with  the  Editors ;  and  (7),  by  encouraging  new 
members  to  join  our  body. 

'*  We  remain,  dear  Sir,  yours  faithfully, 

•'The  Editors." 


I 


%n\iMo\am  €nmytnm. 


FIFTH  SERIES.— VOL.  F,  NO.  XIX. 


JULY  1888. 

NOTES  ON  A 

ROMAN   STEELYARD  AND  OTHER   OBJECTS 
FOUND  AT  STRETTON  GRANDISON, 

HEBBFORDSHIRE. 
BT  J.   BOMILLT  ALLEN,   ESQ.,   F.S.I.   SCOT. 

The  Editors  of  the  Archceologia  Camhrensis  are  very 
much  indebted  to  Mrs.  Glinn  of  The  Steppes,  Eigne, 
near  Hereford,  for  kindly  allowing  the  late  Mr.  Philip 
Ballard's  beautiful  drawings  of  Roman  antiquities  found 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Stretton  Grandison  to  be  en- 
graved by  Mr.  Worthington  G.  Smith,  and  thus  afford- 
ing the  members  of  the  Association  an  opportunity  of 
judging  of  the  great  interest  attaching  to  the  discovery. 
Mr.  B^lard's  untimely  death  is  fresh  in  the  minds  of 
most  of  us,  and  regret  for  his  loss,  and  sympathy  for 
his  bereaved  relatives,  are  mingled  with  feelings  of 
satisfaction  at  the  knowledge  that  the  men  by  whom 
he  was  so  cruelly  murdered  in  his  bed  have  received 
the  just  reward  of  their  misdeeds,  having  been  hanged 
at  Hereford  last  March. 

The  late  Mr.  Ballard  was  engaged  as  Engineer  on 
the  construction  of  the  Herefordshire  and  Gloucester- 
shire Canal,  and  the  objects  engraved  on  the  Plate 
opposite,  consisting  of  a  steelyard  of  Roman  manufac- 

5th  8£B.,  tol.  y.  14 


188  ROMAN   STEELYARD  AND  OTHER  OBJECTS 

ture,  a  piece  of  Samian  ware,  and  a  bronze  spear-head, 
were  discovered  during  the  progress  of  that  work, 
whilst  excavating  for  the  aqueduct  over  the  river 
Frome,  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  below  Stretton 
Grandison  Church,  in  the  year  1842.  The  terra-cotta 
lamp,  which  is  also  Roman,  was  found  quite  accident- 
ally by  one  of  Mr.  Ballard's  nephews,  when  walking 
through  a  wood  near  the  Koman  camp  to  the  east  of 
Stretton  Grandison  Church.  He  was  pulling  up  a  fern 
out  of  a  bank,  and  the  lamp  fell  at  his  feet.  On  Mr. 
Ballard's  drawing  of  the  lamp  it  is  stated  to  have  been 
found  in  1882.^ 

The  interest  of  these  discoveries  is  of  a  twofold 
nature,  both  on  account  of  the  intrinsic  merit  of  the 
objects  themselves  as  specimens  of  Roman  workman- 
ship, and  for  the  indication  they  afford  of  a  Roman 
settlement  in  this  locality. 

The  process  of  the  identification  of  a  Roman  road  or 
settlement  is  one  in  which  we  are  guided  by  four  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  evidence,  namely,  (1),  historical,  derived 
from  the  itineraries  and  references  in  classical  authors  ; 

i2),  philological,  depending  on  the  names  of  the  places ; 
3),  archaeological,  obtained  from  the  examination  of 
structures  and  objects  ;  and  (4),  engineering,  where  the 
straightness  of  the  roads  between  certain  points  gives 
a  clue. 

"  Two  imperfect  itineraries,  giving  us  the  names  and 
distances  from  each  other  of  the  towns  and  stations  on 
the  principal  military  roads,  have  been  preserved.  The 
first  is  contained  in  the  great  Itinerarium  of  the  Roman 
empire,  which  goes  under  the  name  of  Antoninus,  and  is 
believed  to  have  been  compiled  about  a.d.  320.  The 
other  is  contained  in  the  work  of  Richard  of  Cirences- 
ter, and  is  supposed  to  have  been  copied  by  a  monk  of 
the  fourteenth  century  from  an  older  itinerary  or  map. 
They  differ  a  little  from  each  other  ;  but  our  faith  in 

Richard's  Itinerary  is  strengthened  by  the  circumstance 

^  The  information  here  given  was  courteously  sent  by  Mrs.  Glinn 
and  Miss  Fanny  Ballard. 


POUND  AT  8TRETT0N  GRANDISON.  189 

that  nearly  all  the  roads  he  gives,  which  are  not  in 
Antoninus,  have  been  ascertained  to  exist  Traces  of 
many  Koman  roads  are  found  all  over  the  country,  not 
mentioned  in  these  itineraries ;  and  the  names  of  a 
great  number  of  towns  found  neither  in  Antoninus  nor 
in  Richard  are  given  by  an  anonymous  geographer  of 
Bavenna,  who  wrote  about  the  middle  of  the  seventh 
century  ;  but  as  he  placed  them  in  no  regular  order,  it 
is  very  difficult  now  to  identify  their  sites/'^ 

The  portions  of  the  Itinerary  of  Antoninus  relating 
to  Wales,  are  the  whole  of  the  11th,  and  parts  of  the 
2nd,  the  12th,  the  13th,  and  the  14th.  The  number  of 
miles  between  each  station  is  given  in  the  Itinerary, 
but  so  many  errors  are  found  to  exist,  probably  result- 
ing from  careless  copying,  that  the  distances  thus  ob- 
tained are  quite  unreliable.  A  few  Roman  milestones 
have  been  discovered  at  diflferent  times  in  this  country, 
but  no  two  consecutive  ones  remain  in  situ,  and  conse- 
quently the  length  of  the  Roman  mile  is  still  a  matter 
of  doubt.  It  is  known  to  have  consisted  of  1,000  paces 
(mille  passus),  and  the  average  length  (which,  however, 
varies  in  different  parts  of  t£e  country)  is  about  4,834 
English  feet,  or  fourteen  Roman  miles  go  to  thirteen 
English  ones. 

A  great  deal  has  been  written  about  the  Roman 
roads  in  Great  Britain,  but  no  attempt  has  yet  been 
made  to  set  on  foot  an  archaeological  survey  of  the 
whole,  taking  into  account  all  the  various  kinds  of  evi- 
dence of  their  existence  which  have  been  enumerated. 
Such  a  work  for  Wales  would  be  well  worthy  of  the 
attention  of  the  Cambrian  Archaeological  Association. 
Up  to  the  present  time  the  subject  has  been  attacked 
in  a  most  desultory  fashion,  there  being  an  entire  want 
of  system  in  the  methods  of  investigation  employed. 
As  a  preliminary  step,  lists  should  be  compiled  of  all 
the  papers  that  have  been  written  on  Roman  remains 

*  Thos.  Wright's  The  Gelt,  the  Roman,  and  the  Saxon,  p.  120.  The 
Itinerary  of  Richard  of  Cirencester  is  now  generally  believed  to  be 
a  forgery. 

14 » 


190  ROMAN   STEELYARD  AND  OTHER  OBJECTS 

in  Wales,  and  a  complete  catalogue  made  out  of  all 
objects  that  have  been  discovered  at  different  times, 
and  all  structures  now  in  existence,  or  those  of  which 
any  record  has  been  preserved.  All  the  localities  where 
Roman  antiquities  nave  been  found  might  then  be 
marked  on  the  Ordnance  Map,  together  with  the  roads 
and  stations  which  have  been  identified.  This  would 
form  a  basis  for  future  research. 

Wales  should  be  divided  into  districts,  each  of  which 
should  be  allotted  to  one  or  more  members  of  the  Asso- 
ciation who  would  undertake  to  examine  all  the  Roman 
remains  in  it,  and  report  upon  them.  A  set  of  sheets 
of  the  Ordnance  Map  of  Wales,  embodying  the  results 
of  an  archaeological  survey  such  as  the  one  suggested, 
would  be  of  very  great  value,  and  would  add  far  more 
to  our  knowledge  than  all  the  disjointed  communications 
contained  in  the  ArchcBologia  Cambrensis  since  the  com- 
mencement. The  sheets  of  the  Ordnance  Map  should 
be  placed  in  a  portfolio  in  the  custody  of  some  member 
of  the  Association,  who  would  undertake  to  add  any 
new  discoveries ;  and  corresponding  to  each  sheet  there 
should  be  a  list  of  the  localities  where  Roman  remains 
exist,  together  with  all  particulars. 

A  good  deal  of  useful  work  might  be  done  at  the 
annual  summer  Meetings  by  forming  a  survey  party 
with  the  object  of  tracing  some  portion  of  a  Roman 
road  carefully  throughout  its  whole  length,  or  examin- 
ing thoroughly  some  one  or  two  stations.  The  fact  is 
that  the  rushing  about  from  church  to  church  and  from 
cromlech  to  cromlech,  which  takes  place  at  the  annual 
excursions,  goes  a  very  small  way  towards  solving  those 
archaeological  and  historical  problems  for  the  investi- 
gation of  which  this  Association  was  formed.  We  have 
now,  as  a  body,  been  at  work  for  forty  years,  and  dur- 
ing that  time,  with  perhaps  the  exception  of  the  early 
inscribed  stones,  no  single  subject  has  been  systemati- 
cally treated  as  a  whole,  nor  has  any  one  locality  been 
exhaustively  surveyed  so  as  to  leave  nothing  to  be 
gleaned  hereafter. 


FOUND  AT  8TRETT0N  GRANDISON.  191 

The  best  paper  on  the  Roman  roads  in  Wales  which 
I  have  come  across  is  by  the  Rev.  Prebendary  Scarth, 
in  the  Journal  of  the  Bntish  Archceological  Association} 
It  is  accompanied  by  a  good  map  showing  the  Roman 
stations,  with  their  ancient  and  modem  names,  and  the 
course  of  the  lines  of  communication  between  them. 
Other  maps  of  a  similar  kind  have  been  published  pre- 
viously by  Horsley*  and  Sir  R.  Colt  Hoare,'  and  in  the 
Arch.  Camh.,  vol.  vi,  Ser.  Ill,  p.  186. 

The  only  Roman  roads  with  which  we  are  at  present 
concerned  are  those  on  the  eaptem  border  of  the  Prin- 
cipality, in  Herefordshire  and  Shropshire ;  but  in  order 
to  imderstand  any  portion  of  the  Roman  roads  in 
Great  Britain  it  is  necessary  to  be  acquainted  with  the 
general  system  which  existed  throughout  the  whole 
country.  For  this  we  must  refer  the  reader  to  Thomas 
Wright's  The  Celt,  the  Roman,  and  the  Saxon,  the  Rev. 
Prebendary  Scarth  s  Roman  Britain,  Horsley  s  Britan- 
nia Romana,  Dr.  Guest^s  paper  on  the  *'Four  Roman 
Ways"  in  the  Journal  of  the  British  ArchcBological  In- 
stitute (vol.  xiv,  p.  99),  and  Elton's  Origins  of  English 
History. 

The  object  with  which  the  Roman  military  roads  in 
Britain  were  constructed  was  firstly  to  establish  lines 
of  communication  between  the  ports  in  Kent  where 
troops  and  stores  were  landed,  and  secondly  to  connect 
the  principal  stations  with  each  other,  so  that  the 
forces  might  be  easily  concentrated  at  any  given  point. 
The  three  Roman  ports  in  Kent  were  situated  at  Rich- 
borough  (Rutupise),  Dover  (Portus  Dubris),  and  Lymne 
(Portus  Lemanus),  all  of  which  were  connected  by  direct 
roads  converging  at  Canterbury  (Durovernum),  and 
from  thence  to  London  there  was  a  single  line  of  road. 

The  chief  stations  on  the  borders  of  Wales,  which 
enabled  the  Romans  to  control  the  whole  country,  were 

*  Vol.  xxiv,  p.  109, "  The  Bomati  Itinera  connected  with  the  Prin- 
cipality of  Wales." 

■  Britannia  Romana,  p.  380. 

'  Giraldns  Cambrensis,  vol.  i,  Introduction,  p.  cxli. 


192  ROMAN   STEELYARD  AND  OTHER  OBJECTS 

Chester  (Deva),  the  headquarters  of  the  20th  Legion  ; 
Wroxeter  (Uriconium),  an  important  city,  commanding 
the  upper  part  of  the  Severn  Valley ;  and  Caerleon-on- 
Usk,  the  headquarters  of  the  2nd  Legion.  Chester 
and  Wroxeter  were  connected  with  London,  and  there- 
fore with  the  Kentish  ports  beyond,  by  Watling  Street, 
which  ran  in  a  north-westerly  direction  across  England, 
passing  through  St  Alban's  (Verulamium)  in  Hertford- 
shire, Dunstable  (Durocobrivse)  in  Bedfordshire,  Tow- 
cester  (Lactodorum)  and  Lilleboume  (Tripontium)  in 
Northamptonshire ;  crossing  the  Fosseway  at  High 
Ooss  (Venonse),  on  the  borders  of  Leicestershire ;  then 
through  Mancetter  (Manduessedum),  turning  west- 
ward towards  Wroxeter  at  Wall  (Eteocetum),  near 
Lichfield. 

The  chief  strategical  importance  of  Ca^rleon  was  due 
to  its  being  the  nearest  point  to  London  on  the  borders 
of  South  Wales.  It  was  reached  by  the  great  western 
road  through  Hounslow  and  Staines  (Pontes)  in  Mid- 
dlesex, Silchester  (Calleva)  in  Hampshire,  Speen  (Spi- 
nse)  in  Berkshire,  Marlborough  in  Wiltshire,  Bath 
(Aquae  SoUs);  the  passage  Urajectus)  across  the  Severn 
being  made  from  Sea  Mills  (Ad  Sabrinam),  near  Bristol, 
to  Severn  Side  (Ad  Trajectum)  in  Monmouthshire. 

The  passage  over  the  Bristol  Channel  could  be 
avoided  by  taking  the  road  branching  off  at  Speen, 
near  Newbury,  and  going  vid  Cirencester  (Corinium) 
and  Gloucester  (Glevum). 

Having  now  shown  the  means  of  communication  ex- 
isting between  the  stations  on  the  borders  of  Wales 
and  the  Kentish  ports,  we  will  proceed  to  trace  the 
road  from  Chester  to  Caerleon,  which  connected  the 
stations  together.  This  road  ran  the  whole  way  along 
the  border-line  that  separates  the  barren,  mountainous 
districts  of  Wales  and  the  fertile  lowlands  of  Shrop- 
shire, Herefordshire,  and  Monmouthshire,  so  that  troops 
could  be  easily  concentrated  at  any  point  where  it  was 
necessary  to  drive  back  marauding  bands  of  the  war- 
like tribes  of  the  Silures  and  the  Ordovices  into  their 


FOUND  AT  STaSTTOF  QEAITDIBON.  193 

highland  strongholds.     The  itinerary  of  the  road  along 
the  border  is  thus  given  in  Antoninus  : — 

*'Iter  11. — Deva  (Chester);  Bonio  (Bangor  is  Coed), 
m.  JO.  X  ;  Mediolano,  xx ;  Rutunio  (Rowton),  xii ;  Urio- 
conio  (Wroxeter),  xi. 

"/ter  XII. — Bravinio  (Leintwardine),  m.  p.  xxvii ; 
Magnis  (Kenchester),  xxiv  ;  Gobannio  (Abergavenny), 
xxii ;  Burrio  (near  Usk),  xii ;  Isc8B  Leg.  Il  Augusta 
(Caerleon),  ix." 

The  road  between  Chester  and  Caerleon  had  branches 
into  Wales  from  Chester  to  Caernarvon  (Segontium), 
along  the  north  coast;  from  Caerleon  to  St.  David's 
(Menapia),  along  the  south  coast ;  and  inland  routes 
from  Clawdd  Coch  (Mediolanum)  to  Caernarvon,  vid 
Tomen  y  Mur  (Heriri  Mons),  and  from  Abergavenny 
into  the  mountainous  districts.  Sarn  Helen  also  con- 
nected Tomen  y  Mur  with  Caermarthen  (Muridu- 
num) ;  besides  which  there  were,  no  doubt,  numerous 
trackways  of  minor  importance. 

We  will  now  follow  out  the  course  of  the  portion  of 
the  road  from  Chester  to  Caerleon  on  the  Ordnance 
Map,  to  the  scale  of  an  inch  to  the  mile,  beginning  at 
Wroxeter. 

Sheet  61,  N.W. — The  Roman  station  of  Uriconium 
will  be  found  marked  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Severn, 
five  miles,  in  a  straight  line,  south-east  of  Shrewsbury. 
The  road  runs  in  a  south-westerly  direction  from  Wrox- 
eter, leaving  Acton  Burnell  half  a  mile  to  the  east. 
The  first  part  of  the  road  cannot  be  traced  very  clearly. 
It  is  still  called  Watling  Street,  although  its  course  is 
entirely  changed  beyond  Wroxeter.  The  same  name 
is  also  given  to  the  road  which  crosses  the  Tyue  at 
Corbridge  in  Northumberland. 

Sheet  61,  S.W. — The  road  pursues  its  course  in  a 
tolerably  straight  line,  south-west,  towards  Church 
Stretton,  where  it  passes  through  a  valley  between  lofty 
hills,  and  turns  more  to  the  south,  going  on  past  Cra- 
ven Arms.  The  following  place-names,  indicative  of 
the  Roman  origin  of  the   road,  occur  along  it, — All 


194  ROMAN   STEELYARD  AND  OTHER  OBJECTS 

Stretton,  Church  Stretton,  Little  Stretton,  Stretford 
Bridge,  and  a  track  across  the  mountains,  to  the  west 
of  Church  Stretton,  is  called  the  Portway.  Large 
camps  are  marked  at  Caer  Caradoc,  two  miles  north- 
east of  Church  Stretton,  and  at  Norton  Camp,  a  mile 
east  of  Craven  Arms.  There  are  also  several  tumuli 
not  far  from  the  road. 

Sheet  55. — The  general  direction  of  the  road  after  it 
enters  Herefordshire,  three  miles  north  of  Leintwar- 
dine,  is  due  south,  although  it  makes  a  slight  bend  to 
the  west  in  order  to  avoid  the  hilly  ground  between  it 
and  Ludlow.  A  mile  south  of  Leintwardine  (recently 
identified  with  Bravinium^),  the  road  passes  Brandon 
Camp.  Beyond  this  it  passes  by  Wigmore,  and  at 
Aymestry  through  the  valley  of  the  river  Lugg,  emerg- 
ing into  a  flat  country  for  some  miles,  then  going  be- 
tween hills  on  each  side,  near  Canon  Pyon,  and  on  past 
Burghill.  The  following  place-names  occur  on  this 
Sheet, — Street  Court,  Stretford,  Coldharbour  (a  mile 
east  of  Stretford),  and  Portway,  near  Burghill.  There 
are  camps  at  Downton,  Croft  Ambrey,  Ivington,  Cre- 
denhill,  and  Sutton  Walls.* 

Sheet  43. — In  this  sheet  the  road  reaches  Kenches- 
ter,  which  has  been  identified  with  Magna  Castra.'  It 
lies  five  miles  north-west  of  Hereford,  and  the  camp  is 
marked  on  the  map  between  the  church  and  the  Bail- 
way  Station,  to  the  east  side  of  the  former.  **  This 
early  and  interesting  station  seems  to  have  been  in  the 
form  of  an  irregular  hexagon,  its  area  being  raised 
above  the  level  of  the  adjacent  country,  and  was  once 
surroimded  by  a  wall,  the  foundations  of  which  may  be 

*  See  papers  by  Dr.  Bull,  Transactions  of  the  Woolhope  Naturalists* 
Field  Club,  vol.  for  1881-1882,  p.  261;  and  by  Mr.  R.  W.  Panics  in 
Arch.  Camh.,  vol.  v,  Ser.  IV,  p.  163. 

«  See  Woolhope  Trans.,  1881-82,  pp.  184,  214,  and  236,  for  plans 
of  camps  which  are  all  British ;  also  p.  182  for  identification  of  the 
site  of  the  last  battle  of  Caractacns  with  Coxall  Knoll,  near  Leint- 
wardine, by  the  Bev.  C.  Barrongh  ;  and  Arch.  Camh.,  vol.  iii,  New 
Series,  p.  204. 

»  Woolhope  Trans.,  1881-82,  p.  241. 


FOUND  AT  STRETTON  GRANDISON.  1 95 

traced  on  four  of  the  five  sides  which  enclose  the  camp. 
Coins,  personal  ornaments,  pottery,  leaden  pipes  of 
Boman  manufacture,  scoriae,  mosaic  work,  and  various 
objects  of  jet,  bone,  and  metal,  have  been  frequently 
found  within  the  enclosure.  Kenchester  Church  con- 
tains a  font  of  Norman  date,  by  some  supposed  to  have 
been  cut  out  of  a  Roman  column.''* 

A  plan  of  the  camp,  with  the  roads  leading  out  of  it 
to  Weobly,  Stretton,  Sugwas  Pool,  and  Monmouth,  is 
given  in  J.  Duncumh' s  Histor*}/  and  Antiquities  of  Here- 
fordshire^ and  the  area  enclosed  within  the  walls  is 
there  stated  to  be  twenty-one  acres. 

The  road  from  Wroxeter  to  Kenchester  must  appa- 
rently have  divided  into  two  branches  just  beyond 
Canon  Pyon,  one  going  to  Kenchester,  and  the  other 
to  Hereford.  The  branch  leading  to  Kenchester  must 
have  been  about  four  miles  in  length,  passing  some- 
where near  the  camp  on  the  top  of  the  hill  above  Brin- 
sop  ;  but  its  course  is  not  clearly  defined  on  the  Ord- 
nance Map.  The  road  from  Wroxeter,  after  it  leaves 
Kenchester,  is  called  Stone  Street,  and  crossing  the 
Wye  at  Old  Wear,  goes  in  a  south-west  direction  over 
Brampton  Hill,  past  Abbey  Dore,*  to  Abergavenny 
(Gobannium),  on  Sheet  42  of  the  Ordnance  Map,  to  the 
inch-scale,  where  it  enters  the  Valley  of  the  Usk.  The 
course  chosen  for  the  road  in  crossing  over  from  the 
Valley  of  the  Monow  to  that  of  the  Usk  follows  the 
same  line  of  country  as  the  Railway  from  Hereford  to 
Abergavenny,  the  object  in  both  cases  being  to  traverse 
the  lowest  pass  between  the  hills.  Beyond  Aberga- 
venny the  road  follows  the  Valley  of  the  Usk  by  a 
rather  circuitous   route   through  Usk'  (Burrium),  on 

*  Murray's  Handbook  for  Olouceitershire^Worcesterehiref  aiid  Here^ 
fordshiref  p.  310. 

*  Abont  a  mile  south  of  this  place,  near  Ewias  Harold,  the  name 
King  Street  is  marked  on  the  Map. 

*  Three  miles  north  of  Usk,  a  *'  Cold  Harbour"  (i.6.,  a  deserted 
Boman  building  affording  a  cold  welcome  to  the  traveller)  is  marked 
on  the  Ordnance  Map,  Sheet  35,  of  the  inch  scale. 


196  ROMAN   STEELYARD  AND  OTHER  OBJECTS 

Sheet  35  of  the  Ordnance  Map,  to  Caerleon  (Isca  Silu- 
rum),  on  Sheet  36.  Both  Abergavenny  and  Usk  were 
connected  with  Gloucester  (Glevum)  by  a  road  passing 
through  Weston,  near  Ross  (Ariconium),  and  dividing 
into  two  branches  at  Monmouth  (Blestium),  as  speci- 
fied in  the  13th  iter  of  Antoninus. 

The  roads  we  have  been  examining  up  to  now  are 
those  to  which  we  know  from  historical  record  that  the 
Komans  attached  the  greatest  strategical  importance  ; 
but  there  are  many  others  whose  existence  can  be 
proved  by  archeeological  discoveries  made  on  or  near 
their  sites,  by  the  place-names  along  the  route,  and  by 
their  straightness  as  compared  with  the  ordinary 
British  trackways  and  modem  roads.  Mr.  Jas.  Davies 
has  already  described  the  five  principal  Roman  roads 
in  Herefordshire  in  the  ArchoBologia  Camhrensis^ 
namely,  (1),  from  Wroxeter  to  Abergavenny,  as  speci- 
fied in  the  1 2th  iter  of  Antoninus  ;  (2),  Kenchester,  vid 
Stretton  Grandison  (Cicutio),  to  Worcester  ( Wigonia)  ; 
(3),  Kenchester  to  Weston,  near  Ross  (Ariconium);  (4), 
JBrandon*  to  Stretton  Grandison  ;  (5),  Weston  to  Glou- 
cester, as  specified  in  the  13th  iter  of  Antoninus. 

Those  we  are  chiefly  concerned  with  are  the  two 
which  pass  through  Stretton  Grandison,  namely  Nos. 
2  and  4.  The  whole  of  road  No.  2  will  be  found  on 
Sheet  43  of  the  Ordnance  Map.  It  proceeds  in  a  toler- 
ably straight  line  eastward  through  Holme,  past 
Withington  Railway  Station,  and  by  Yarkhill  to  Stret- 
ton Grandison,  the  whole  distance  being  about  twelve 
miles.  The  following  Roman  place-names  occur  on  or 
near  the  road, — Stretton  Sugwas,  Duck  Street  (a  mile 
and  a  half  north  of  Withington  Railway  Station),  Street 
Lane  (near  Yarkhill),  and  Stretton  Grandison  itself. 

There  appears  to  have  been  a  Roman  road,  not  men- 
tioned in  Mr.  Davies'  paper,  which  crossed  the  one  just 
described  at  Holmer,  and  passing  through  Hereford 

^  Vol.  iv.  New  Series,  p.  320. 

'  Mr.  Davies  supposed  Brayinium  to  be  at  Brandon  instead  of  at 
Leiutwardine. 


POUND  AT  STRETTON  GRANDISON.  197 

went  on  south  to  Monmouth.  My  reason  for  believing 
this  road  to  be  Roman  is  partly  on  account  of  its 
straightness,  and  also  because  there  is  a  Portway 
marked  along  its  line,  on  the  Ordnance  Map,  at  a  point 
three  miles  south  of  Hereford.  The  road  in  question 
was  a  continuation  of  the  one  from  Wroxeter,  called 
Watling  Street ;  and  another  Portway  is  marked  along 
its  line,  three  miles  north  of  Hereford.  (See  Ordnance 
Map,  Sheet  55.) 

Mr.  Davies'  road,  No.  3,  from  Kenchester  to  Weston, 
near  Ross,  branches  out  from  the  road  between  Ken- 
chester and  Stretton  Grandison,  near  Withington  Sta- 
tion, going  southward  along  the  east  side  of  the  valley 
of  the  Wye,  and  past  Fownhope  and  Crow  Hill  to 
Weston.  It  is  along  the  continuation  of  this  road, 
northward  from  Withington  Railway  Station,  that  the 
name  Duck  Street  occurs. 

Road  No.  4,  from  Stretton  Grandison  to  Brandon, 
near  Leintwardine,  can  be  traced  on  Sheet  55  of  the 
Ordnance  Map.  It  goes  in  a  north-west  direction  as 
far  as  England's  Gate,  and  thence  nearly  north,  and 
parallel  with  the  Hereford  and  Shrewsbury  Railway, 
passing  Leominster  about  two  miles  to  the  west.  The 
name  Stretford  occurs  along  the  line  of  the  road  not 
far  from  Leominster. 

The  portion  of  road,  No.  2,  between  Kenchester  and 
Worcester,  beyond  Stretton  Grandison,  is  also  on  Sheet 
55  of  the  Ordnance  Map.  It  goes  in  a  north-east  direc- 
tion past  Castle  Froome,  and  over  the  northern  end  of 
the  Malvern  Hills  into  Worcestershire. 

The  road  from  Stretton  Grandison,  south-east  to 
Newent,  is  quite  straight  enough  to  be  Roman,  although 
it  is  not  mentioned  as  being  so  by  Mr.  Davies.  The 
name  Cold  Arbour  is  marked  close  to  this  road,  a  mile 
north  of  Newent. 

Stretton  Grandison  contains  in  its  double  name  much 
of  its  early  history.  It  marks  an  English  settlement 
on  a  Roman  road,  and  commemorates  the  great  Bur- 
gundian  family  which  possessed   it   in  feudal  times. 


198     ROMAN  STEELYARD  AND  OTHER  OBJECTS 

William  de  Grandison  acquired  property  in  Hereford- 
shire before  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century.^  The 
manor  now  belongs  to  the  Rev.  Prebendary  William 
Poole,  who  has  very  courteously  furnished  me  with 
much  valuable  information  about  the  Koman  roads  of 
Herefordshire,  through  Mr.  R.  W.  Banks,  our  Treasurer. 
The  name  Cicutio,  which  has  been  identified  with 
Stretton  Grandison,  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Itinerary 
of  Antoninus,  but  occurs  in  the  list  of  Roman  towns 
given  by  the  anonymous  geographer  of  Ravenna,  who 
wrote  in  the  seventh  century.^  The  Roman  camp  at 
Stretton  Grandison  is  not  marked  on  the  Ordnance 
Map ;  but  the  point  where  the  aqueduct  of  the  Here- 
ford and  Gloucester  Canal  crosses  the  river  Froome, 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  south  of  Stretton  Grandison 
Church,  can  be  clearly  seen. 

Having  now  fully  made  out  the  connection  between 
the  general  system  of  Roman  roads  in  Britain,  and 
those  passing  through  Stretton  Grandison,  we  have  to 
consider  the  antiquities  found  there. 

The  Roman  lamp  is  of  terra-cotta,  of  the  usual  form, 
with  a  shallow,  circular  saucer  to  hold  the  oil,  and  a 
projecting  spout  for  the  wick.  The  medallion  with 
which  the  oil-cup  is  covered  over  is  decorated  with  a 
bas-relief  representing  a  boy  standing  with  his  legs 
apart,  and  a  dog  jumping  up  against  him.  Somewhat 
similar  figure-subjects  occur  upon  a  lamp  in  the  Guild- 
hall Museum,  and  upon  one  illustrated  in  G,  P.  Bel- 
lori's  Le  Antiche  Lucerne  Sepulcrali  Figurate  (Roma, 
1704). 

The  steelyard  is  imperfect,  as  the  handle  for  suspen- 
sion, and  the  four  chains  for  attaching  the  scale-pan, 
are  wanting.  Complete  specimens  are  very  seldom 
found  in  this  country.  In  the  British  Museum  there 
is  a  Roman  steelyard  with  the  weight  and  all  the  hooks, 

*  Robinson's  Maimoiis  of  Herefordshire, 

•  This  list  is  ^ven  in  Thomas  Wright's  The  Celt,  the  Roman,  and 
the  Stixon,  p.  463.  The  original  MSS.  are  in  the  Libraries  of  the 
Vatican  and  in  Paris. 


FOUND  AT  STRETTON  GRANDISON.  199 

but  without  the  scale-pan.  It  was  discovered  at  King- 
holm,  in  Gloucestershire,  and  belonged  formerly  to  the 
Rev.  Samuel  Lysons,  the  great  antiquary.  It  is  en- 
graved In  the  Archaologia,  vol.  x,  PI.  13.  Another 
nearly  perfect  Roman  steelyard,  dug  up  in  Mr.  D. 
Cooper's  grounds  at  Bainesse,  Catterick,  Yorkshire,  is 
described  in  a  paper  by  the  Rev.  R.  E.  Hooppell,  LL.D., 
in  the  Journal  of  the  British  Archaological  Association, 
vol.  xliii,  p.  238. 


Komas  I«mp  toand  M  BtrMton  Orandiion, 

We  can  supply  the  missing  portions  of  the  Stretton 
Grandison  steelyard  by  comparing  it  with  an  extremely 
interesting  one,  in  perfect  condition,  from  Pompeii,' 

'  See  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Edward  Trollopo's  lU-uttratumt  of 
AftcietU  Aii  telecttd  from  ObjtOi  dUcowred  at  Pompeii  and  Hereuia- 
neum,  Plato  xliv,  fig.  9  ;  and  Penny  Encydopadia,  article,  "  Steel- 


200      ROMAN  STEELYABD  AND  OTHER  OBJECTS 

bearing  the  following  inscription^  fixing  its  date  at 
A.D.  77, — 

IMP .  VB8P  .  AVG  IIX 
T  .  IMP  .  AVG  .  F .  VI  .  0 
EXACTA  IM  CAPITO 

(In  the  eighth  consulate  of  the  Emperor  Vespasian 
Augustus,  and  in  the  sixth  of  the  Emperor  Titus,  son 
of  Augustus.     Proved  in  the  Capitol.) 

There  are  three  kinds  of  weighing  machines  made  on 
the  lever  principle,  with  a  horizontal  beam '}  (1),  the 
equal-armed  balance,  in  which  the  leverage  round  the 
fulcrum  is  constant,  and  the  weight  varied  by  adding 
to  its  mass ;  (2),  the  ordinary  steelyard,  sometimes 
called  the  "  Roman",  in  which  the  weight  is  constant, 
and  the  leverage  raised  by  moving  it  along  the  beam 
of  the  scales ;  and  (3)»  another  less  common  sort  of 
steelyard,  known  as  the  "Danish",  in  which  the  weight 
is  constant  in  amount,  and  fixed  at  the  end  of  the 
beam  of  the  scales,  the  leverage  being  raised  by  alter- 
ing the  point  of  suspension. 

The  most  common  weighing  machines  amongst  the 
Romans  were  of  the  first  two  kinds,  the  balance  (libra) 
and  the  steelyard  {statera)^  and  I  am  not  aware  that 
the  third  kind  was  used  by  them  at  all.^  The  Roman 
equal-armed  balance  was  just  like  the  modem  one, 
except  that  sometimes  one  side  of  the  beam  was  marked 
with  divisions,  and  provided  with  a  sliding  weight, 
thus  combining  the  principle  of  the  equal-armed  balance 

^  There  is  another  sort  of  weighing  machine  on  the  lever  prin- 
ciple, in  which  the  leverage  is  varied  by  inclining  the  beam  at  dif- 
ferent angles. 

*  This  class  of  weighing  machine  is  nsed  at  the  present  day  in 
Norway,  Shetland,  and  Persia,  being  made  of  wood,  and  suspended 
by  a  looped  cord.  Its  defect  is  that  when  the  beam  is  inclined,  the 
suspending  loop  is  apt  to  slip  and  vitiate  the  result  of  the  weighing 
operation.  See  Olans  Magnus,  Historia  de  GentilnM  SeptentriondU' 
bus  (Rom89,  1555),  p.  468 ;  Oppressions  of  the  Sixteenth  Century  in 
the  Islands  of  Orkney  and  Zetland^  p.  145 ;  and  Dr.  Hibbert's  Shet" 
land. 


FOOND  AT  STRBTTON  GRANDISON.  201 

with  that  of  the  steelyard.  Some  of  the.  Roman  equal- 
armed  balances  found  in  London,  and  preserved  in  the 
Guildhall  Museum,  are  ingeniously  hinged  on  each  side 
of  the  suspending  hook,  so  as  to  fold  up,  probably  to 
fit  into  a  case  for  carrying  about  on  the  person. 

The  usual  type  of  Roman  steelyard  consists  of  the 
following  parts : — the  handle  or  nook  for  suspension 
(ansa),  the  beam  {jugum)^  the  sliding  weight  (cequi- 
pondium),  the  scale-pan  (Zarwc),with  its  chains  for  attach- 
ing it  to  the  beam ;  and  a  hook  on  the  beam  for 
weighing  objects  hung  to  it,  instead  of  being  placed 
in  tibe  scale-pan.  The  beam  is  a  rod  of  metal  with  a 
knob  at  one  end  to  prevent  the  movable  weight  from 
slipping  off,  and  three  loops  cast  in  one  piece  with  it ; 
the  first  at  the  opposite  end  to  the  knob,  for  the  hook 
by  which  the  scale-pan  is  hung;  the  second  on  the 
lower  side  of  the  beam,  for  the  hook,  to  weigh  objects 
suspended  instead  of  put  into  the  scale-pan  ;  and  the 
third  on  the  upper  side  of  the  beam,  for  the  handle  to 
be  fixed  to.  The  longer  arm  of  the  beam  between  the 
handle  and  the  end  with  the  knob  is  marked  with  a 
scale^  to  give  the  weight  by  measuring  its  distance 
from  the  fulcrum.  The  handle,  which  is  missing  in  the 
Stretton  Grandison  steelyard,  consists  of  a  short  chain 
with  a  hook  at  the  top  for  holding  it  in  the  hand  or 
hanging  it  up  by.  The  scale-pan  has  four  loops  and 
rings,  to  each  of  which  chains  are  fastened,  which  can 
be  brought  together  between  the  pan  and  the  beam  by 
means  of  a  tightening  ring.  At  the  top  of  this  chain 
is  a  ring  which  can  be  passed  over  the  double  hook 
(marked  a  on  the  Plate).  The  weight  is  hung  to  the 
beam  by  a  chain  of  two  links.  The  weight  belonging 
to  the  Stretton  Grandison  steelyard  is  nearly  spherical, 
but  generally  it  is  made  in  the  shape  of  a  bust  of 
some  classical  god  or  goddess. 

^  There  are  often  two  or  three  scales,  as  on  the  specimen  fonnd 
near  Catterick,  so  that  the  same  weight  conld  be  nsed  for  objects 
either  pat  into  the  scale-pan  or  suspended  by  one  of  the  hooks. 


202  ROMAN   STEELYARD  AND  OTHER  OBJECTS 

The  Romans  set  an  example,  which  might  well  be 
followed  in  the  present  day,  of  paying  no  small  amount 
of  attention  to  the  artistic  appearance  of  objects  in 
every-day  use.  There  is  no  reason  why  the  modern 
English  weights  should  be  so  extremely  ugly.  In  me- 
diaeval times  weights  were  ornamented  with  heraldic 
shields,  and  the  Burmese  make  their  weights  in  the 
form  of  a  conventionalised  animal.  A  Greek  weight  in 
the  British  Museum  has  an  owl  stamped  in  relief  upon 
it,  and  some  highly  ornamented  Scandinavian  weights 
were  discovered,  with  a  balance,  in  a  Viking'a  grave 
near  Kiloran  Bay,  in  the  Isle  of  Colonsay,  Scotland. 

The  piece  of  Samian  ware  found  at  Stretton  Grandi- 
son  has  the  representation  of  a  wild  boar  upon  it,  pro- 
bably forming  part  of  a  hunting  scene.  The  appearance 
of  the  spear  is  clearly  shown  in  the  engraving. 

The  whole  of  the  objects  are  drawn  to  one-half  their 
natural  size,  so  that  it  is  unnecessary  to  give  the  dimen- 
sions. 

Since  writing  the  above,  Mr.  R.  W.  Banks  has  called 
my  attention  to  the  volume  of  the  Transactions  of  the 
Woolhope  Naturalists'  Field  C?t^6 /or  1881-82,  which 
has  only  just  been  published,  containing  a  very  valuable 
paper  by  Dr.  Bull  on  "  Credenhill  Camp,  Magna  Cas- 
tra,  and  the  Roman  Stations  and  Towns  in  Hereford- 
shire." The  following  description  of  Stretton  Grandison 
is  given  in  the  paper  : — 

"GicuTio  OB  CiRCUTio. — ThiB  Roman  station  is  not  mentioned 
either  by  Ptolemy  or  Antunine.  It  is  named,  however,  with  five 
others,  by  the  anonymoas  geographer  of  Ravenna,  in  his  Chorography^ 
as  existing  between  Oaerleon  and  Magna.  Baxter,  in  his  Olossaritim 
AfUiquitatum  Britannicarum,  placed  it  at  Stretton  Ghrandison,  and 
it  appears  here  on  all  the  old  maps.  The  Roman  road  from  Magna 
enters  that  i^m  Braviniam  and  Blackwardine  at  a  right  angle,  and 
tradition  assigns  its  place  in  the  son th- west  comer,  near  the  junc- 
tion of  the  roads.  Its  exact  site  was  not  known,  however,  nntil  it 
was  accidentally  discovered  by  Messrs.  Stephen  and  Philip  Ballard 
in  1842,  when  making  the  Ledbnry  and  Hereford  Canal.  On  the 
banks  of  the  river  Frome,  in  a  flat  meadow  called  '  Badbnry',  about 
half  a  mile  from  the  Camp  on  the  hill,  it  was  necessary  to  dig  a 


FOUND  AT  STRETTON  GRANDISON.  203 

square  hole,  60  feet  by  40  feet,  and  12  feet  deep,  in  order  to  lay  the 
foundation  Ifbr  the  aqueduct  to  carry  the  canal  over  the  river.  The 
excavation  was  made  in  the  open  meadow ;  and  the  large  arch  form- 
ing the  aqueduct  was  first  built,  and  the  river,  slightly  diverted 
from  its  channel,  was  turned  through  it.  Towards  the  bottom  of 
the  excavation  black  soil  was  met  with,  containing  a  large  number 
of  bones  of  sheep  and  cattle  and  horses,  particularly  blade-bones. 
On  examining  more  closely,  a  pair  of  Roman  weight-scales  (which 
would  be  the  modern  steelyards  only  they  are  made  of  copper)  were 
found  with  the  weight  attached ;  a  Roman  coin  of  small  brass ;  a 
couple  of  gold  bracelets,  one  made  of  coiled  gold  wire,  and  the  other 
a  flat  gold  band  with  light  scrollwork  upon  it,  each  fastened  with 
simple  hooks ;  fragments  of  Samian  ware  with  animals  embossed  in 
relief;  and  many  pieces  of  coarse  pottery.  A  round  ball  of  stone, 
2  inches  in  diameter,  like  a  small  cannon-ball,  was  also  found.  Bud- 
bury  Meadow,  at  the  present  time,  is  extremely  liable  to  be  flooded 
by  the  muddy  waters  of  the  river  Frome.  It  is  below  the  Gamp, 
and  to  the  west  of  it,  near  Canon  Frome  Canal  Wharf. 

"  The  Camp  on  the  hill  is  very  extensive,  and  were  it  not  for  the 
trees  upon  it  would  command  a  wide  view  of  the  surrounding  dis- 
trict. It  does  not  at  this  time  (1882)  present  any  regular  lines  of 
fortification,  and  the  '  Square  Camp'  spoken  of  by  most  writers  is 
no  longer  apparent.  On  the  south  side  a  long  artificial  escarpment 
leads  up  toward  the  Camp,  and  near  the  top  of  the  hill  a  deep  fosse 
takes  its  place.  There  are  also  signs  of  a  ditch  near  the  northern 
end  of  the  Camp,  and  scattered  all  about  it  are  a  number  of  rough 
single  stones  that  do  not  seem  to  belong  naturally  to  the  situation. 
Its  surface  is  covered  with  timber,  and  a  clump  of  Scotch  fir-trees 
growing  on  a  mound  at  the  highest  and  most  prominent  part  of  the- 
hill  very  possibly  marks  out  the  signal-station  of  its  Roman  occu- 
pants. 

^*  On  the  south  side  of  the  hill,  in  the  wood  near  the  top,  is  a  large 
hollow  space,  from  which  very  possibly  the  earth  was  taken  to  form 
the  present  road  on  the  escarpment  just  mentioned.  On  the  side  of 
this  hollow  Mr.  Herbert  Ballard,  when  digging  ferns  among  the 
underwood,  in  1878,  discovered  a  very  curious  Roman  lamp  at  a  few 
inches  below  the  surface." 


5th  ser.,  vol.  v.  15 


204 


NOTES  TO  THE  ACCOUNT  OF  CWMHIR 
ABBEY,  RADNORSHIRE. 

BT   R.   W.    BANES. 

A  FULL  account  of  the  history  of  the  Cistercian  Monas- 
tery of  Cwmhir,  and  of  the  remains  of  its  ruined  Abbey 
Church,  has  been  given  by  the  late  Rev.  W.  Jenkin 
Rees  in  the  fourth  volume  of  the  ArchcBohgta  Cam- 
hrensis ;  it  will,  therefore,  be  necessary  to  give  now  such 
an  outline  only  of  its  history  as  will  serve  to  render 
the  following  notes  on  the  same  subject  intelligible. 

The  Abbey  of  Cwmhir  was  founded  by  Cadwallon 
ap  Madoc,  the  owner  of  Cantred  Maelienydd,  in  which 
it  was  situate,  about  the  year  1143,  and  was  subse- 
quently endowed  with  large  possessions  by  his  son 
Howel  and  his  grandson  Meredith  ap  Maelgon  ;  also  by 
Roger  Mortimer,  who  in  the  reign  of  King  John  dis- 
possessed the  previous  owners  of  Maelienydd  ;^  and  by 
Einion  Clyd,  the  founder's  brother,  and  owner  of  the 
adjoining  Cantred  Elvael. 

The  only  record  of  these  donations  is  contained  in 
charters,  16  John,  27  Dec,  Charter  Rolls,  p.  205;  and 
16  Henry  HI,  June  1st.  None  of  the  grants  to  the 
Abbey  have  been  preserved.  From  Meredith  ap  Mael- 
gon tne  Abbey  derived  the  manor  of  Gollon,  and  lands 
in  the  parishes  of  Llanbadarn  Vynydd,  Llanano,  and 
Llandewy  Ystradenny,  with  "common  of  pasture  over 
the  whole  of  Maelienydd  and  Kerry";  from  Roger  Mor- 
timer, the  manor  of  Dolelven,  in  the  parish  of  St.  Har- 
mon, adjoining  the  territory  of  the  monks  of  Strata 
Florida  and  the  county  of  Montgomery,  with  common 
of  pasture  in  Worthen,  situate  in  the  counties  of  Mont- 
gomery and  Salop. 

These  grants  received  a  further  confirmation  from 

*  Mon,  Anglicy  tome  ii,  p.  221. 


CWMHIR  ABBEY.  205 

the  Inspexirmcs^ChsLTter,  11  Edward  II  (Patent  Rolls, 
m.  5),  which  in  addition  confirmed  to  the  Abbey  of 
Cwmhir  the  donation  which  Gwenwynwyn,  son  of  Owen 
Cyfeiliog,  made  to  the  monks  of  the  land  called  Cwra- 
buga,  with  its  appurtenances,  and  Eellmeignan  with  its 
appurtenances,  and  "common  of  pasture  everywhere 
through  Arwstli  and  Cyfeiliog",  and  the  lands  of  Garth- 
kewyt  ajid  Eskir  y  maen  and  Eskir  y  vedw  with  all  their 
appurtenances.  This  additional  donation  gave  rise  to 
a  dispute  between  the  Abbey  of  Cwmhir  and  the  ad- 
joining Abbey  of  Ystrad  Marchell,  which  will  be  pre- 
sently referred  to. 

The  greater  part  of  the  land  so  given  bj'  Gwenwyn- 
wyn is  in  the  parish  of  Llangurig,  then  part  of  Cantred 
Arwstly,  and  in  the  south-western  portion  of  the 
county  of  Montgomery.  Esgair  y  maen  appears  in  the 
Ordnance  Survey  to  be  on  the  south  side  of  Plinlim- 
mon,  not  far  from  Blaen  Gwy ;  Mynachlog,  on  the  river 
Bidno,  which  runs  into  the  Wye  neat  Glan  Gwy,  was 
probably  part  of  the  same  donation.  The  source  of 
Afon  Buga  is  near  the  summit  of  Plinlimmon,  whence 
it  flows  eastward  past  Cwmbiga  into  Afon  Clywedog, 
which  joins  the  Severn  at  Llanidloes. 

The  natural  features  of  the  district  are  well  described 
in  the  parochial  account  of  Llangurig  as  mountainous, 
and  almost  covered  by  some  of  the  numerous  offshoots 
of  Plinlimmon,  which  form  a  number  of  high,  moorland 
tracts  intersected  by  numerous  nants,or  narrow  ravines, 
down  which  the  mountain-torrents  flow.  The  slopes, 
and  in  some  instances  the  summits,  of  these  elevated 
tracts  are  dotted  with  numbers  of  small  farms,  whose 
occupants  maintain  a  laborious  but  cheerful  struggle  to 
extort  a  subsistence  by  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  or 
more  commonly  by  attending  to  extensive  sheepwalks, 
affording  pasture  to  sheep  of  a  hardy  kind,  and  hill- 
ponies  which  during  the  winter  months  are  removed 
from  the  higher  and  more  exposed  hills  to  the  farms  in 
the  valleys  and  low  grounds.^ 

*  History  of  Llangurig,  by  B.  Hamer  and  Howel  W.  Lloyd. 

15* 


206  NOTES  TO  THE  ACCOUNT 

A  very  secluded  site  was  chosen  for  the  erection  of 
the  monastic  house  of  Cwmhir,  at  the  foot  of  mountains 
sheltering  it  on  all  sides  save  the  south,  by  the  side  of 
Clywedog  brook,  which  finds  its  way  by  a  tortuous 
course  into  the  river  Eithon.  There  is  no  account  or 
tradition  who  its  builder  was.  Judging  from  its  re- 
mains, the  Abbey  Church  appears  to  have  been  a  work 
of  the  thirteenth  century :  and  its  ruins  justify  the 
remark  of  Leland  in  his  Itinerary,  that  no  church  in 
Wales  "is  seen  of  such  length,  as  the  foundation  of 
walls  there  begun  doth  show;  but  the  third  part  of  the 
work  was  never  finished".  The  nave  alone  was  com- 
pleted; part  of  the  transept- walls  were  begun,  but 
were  left  unfinished. 

About  the  year  1170  a  Cistercian  monastery  was 
founded  by  Owen  Cyfeiliog  near  Welshpool.  Its  monas- 
tic body  appear  to  have  come  from  the  Abbey  of  Alba- 
domus,  or  Whitland.  It  was  known  first  as  the  Abbey 
of  Pola,  and  afterwards  as  Strata  Marcella,  or  Ystrad 
Marchell,  the  names  of  the  parish  and  commot  in  which 
it  was  situate.  Its  site  is  traceable  by  the  raised  turf 
in  a  field  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river  Severn,  about 
two  miles  and  a  half  east  of  Welshpool ;  but  no  ruins 
remain. 

Owen  ap  GriflSth,  or  Cyfeiliog,  so  named  from  the 
commot  which  formed  the  south-western  portion  of 
Montgomeryshire,  was  Prince  of  Upper  Powys.  His 
residence  was  at  Tafolwem,  of  which  a  moated  mound 
near  Llanbrynmair  is  the  traditionary  site.  On  his 
death,  in  1197,  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Gwenwyn- 
wyn,  who  made  several  grants  to  the  Monastery,  which 
were  confirmed  by  King  John  in  the  first  year  of  his 
reign. 

Inspeximus  charters  of  Edward  II  and  Henry  VI 
contain  the  only  record  of  the  original  charter,  but  for- 
tunately a  long  series  of  subsequent  charters  have  been 
preserved  at  Wynnstay  :  translations  of  these  charters 
have  appeared  in  the  fourth  volume  of  the  Montgomery- 
shire  Collections,  as  part  of  the  able  and  exhaustive 


OF  CWMHIR  ABBEY.  207 

account  of  the  Abbey  by  Mr.  Morris  Charles  Jones.  For 
the  present  purpose  it  will  be  necessary  to  refer  to  the 
contents  of  those  charters  only  which  affect  or  interfere 
with  the  donation  of  Gwenwynwyn  to  Abbey  Cwmhir. 

In  1201  Gwenwynwyn  confirmed  his  previous  grants 
to  the  Abbey  of  Ystrad  Marchell,  and,  in  fact,  gave  the 
whole  of  the  commot  of  Cyfeiliog,  describing  its  bound- 
aries by  the  mention  of  each  river  from  its  source  to  its 
aber^  including  in  the  description  "Aber  Kamddwr 
Kyveilio^  usque  ad  ejus  ortum  et  inde  per  Einiaun  us- 
que ad  ejus  aber  et  inde  per  Dyfi  usque  ad  Aberdulas". 
As  Einiawn  will  be  presently  referred  to,  it  may  be 
well  to  mention  now  that  its  source  is  on  Plynlimmon, 
and  that  it  flows  into  the  Dovey  near  Eglwys  Each,  in 
Cardiganshire.  As  rivers  served  to  define  the  bound- 
ary, we  may  infer  that  the  greater  part  of  the  territory 
was  uninclosed. 

The  original  of  Gwenwynwyn *s  confirmation-charter, 
with  a  seal  attached,  is  at  Wynnstay.  It  concludes 
with  a  clause  which  is  wanting  in  the  charter  as  set 
out  in  Pennant's  Tours  in  Wales,  vol.  iii,  p.  458,  and 
in  vol.  iv,  N.  S.,  Arch.  Camh.,  p.  205.  The  omitted 
clause,  according  to  the  translation  in  the Moritgomery- 
shire  Collections,  is  as  follows  : — **A11  these  pastures  I, 
the  aforesaid  Wenwynwyn,  have  given  to  the  said 
monks,  under  the  aforesaid  boundaries,  as  well  in  wood 
as  in  plain,  and  in  all  easements,  freely  and  quietly, 
well  and  peacefully,  without  any  exaction  or  secular 
custom,  to  possess  in  perpetual  right,  so  that  no  other 
monks  shall  have  in  the  aforesaid  pastures  any  proprie- 
torship as  of  commonage  within  the  aforesaid  bound- 
aries, except  the  monks  of  Cwmhir,  to  whom,  by  the 
petition  of  the  monks  of  Strat  Marchell,  I  have  granted 
the  pastures  between  Corf  and  Einiawn  ;  and  except 
the  monks  of  Kymmer,  to  whom  I  have  granted,  with 
the  consent  of  the  monks  of  Strat  Marchell,  Lloidiarth 
and  Cwmkeili,  on  the  other  side  of  the  river.^' 

This  charter  is  not  included  in  the  Inspeximus  char- 
ters.    In  1215  Gwenwynwyn  entered  into  an  alliance 


208  NOTES  TO  THE  ACCOUNT 

with  King  John,  and  was  dispossessed  of  his  territory 
by  Prince  Llewelyn  ap  lorwerth,  who  placed  his  sou 
Griffith  over  Powys. 

Differences  arose  between  the  monks  of  Cwmhir  and 
Ystrad  Marchell  as  to  their  respective  rights  of  pastur- 
age on  the  territory  comprised  in  Gwenwynwyns  dona- 
tions. The  dispute  was  referred  to  the  determination 
of  a  general  Chapter  of  the  Cistercians  in  1225,  and 
decided  ;  but  the  Chapter  soon  afterwards  revoked  its 
decision,  and  in  the  following  year  issued  a  mandate  to 
the  abbots  of  the  monastic  houses  of  Whitland,  Dore, 
and  Caerleon,  to  inquire  into  and  settle  the  matter  in 
dispute. 

With  a  view  to  support  their  contention,  the  monks 
of  Ystrad  Marchell  obtained,  in  1226,  from  Griffith  ap 
Llewelyn  a  charter  in  which  the  following  clause  occurs : 
"  In  like  manner  1  have  given  to  the  aforesaid  ihonks 
all  that  land  which  is  between  Korth  (Corf)  and 
Einiawn,  so  that  no  other  monks  shall  have  in  that  any 
use,  or  commonage,  or  proprietorship,  except  the  monks 
of  Strat  Marchell ;  but  all  the  aforesaid  boundaries  and 
donations  which  relate  to  Keveylioc  I  have  given  them, 
as  better  witnesseth  the  charter  of  our  Lord  Wenwyn- 
wyn." 

The  strife  was  ultimately  ended  by  a  compromise,  to 
which  the  arbitrators,  with  the  assent  of  the  Abbots  of 
both  houses,  gave  their  sanction,  at  Radnor,  in  the 
month  of  July  1226.  The  terms  of  the  compromise 
were  recorded  by  a  deed  to  which  .the  seals  of  the  Sub- 
Prior  of  Dore  and  of  the  Abbots  of  Caerleon,  Pool, 
Strata  Florida,  and  Valle  Crucis,  were  annexed,  and 
were,  that  the  whole  of  the  monks'  land  in  the  midst 
between  Wych^  and  Buga,  from  the  moor  upwards, 
which  is  above  Perveth  Mynyth,^  be  divided  through 
the  middle  in  a  straight  line  in  length  as  far  as  it  ex- 
tends, whether  to  Plinlimmon  or  any  other  place,  so 

*  Or  it  may  be  read  "  Wyth",  but  not  "  Luyth",  as  in  the  trans- 
lation, and  probably  represents  "  Gwy". 

*  In  the  translation  this  is  printed  "  Broct  menith". 


OF  CWMHIR  ABBEY.  209 

that  it  may  be  halved  between  the  two  houses ;  the 
half  which  is  towards  Lu3rth*  to  remain  to  Pool ;  the 
house  of  Cwmhir  having  from  that  half  all  the  land  of 
Cwmbuga  and  Blaengwy  in  their  bounds,  and  between 
Corf  and  Einiawn  that  part  which  belongs  to  the 
county  of  Cardigan  ;  and  the  house  of  Pool  having  the 
land  which  belongs  to  Cyfeiliog.  The  land  which  the 
monks  of  Pool  and  Cwmhir  then  enjoyed  in  turn  ("  ab 
invicem"*)  to  so  remain  for  ever,  without  contention. 

From  this  it  appears  that  there  were  lands  which 
each  house  held  in  its  turn,  for  a  certain  period,  in 
severalty.  The  deed,  which  is  evidently  a  duplicate  of 
the  deed  at  Wynnstay,  translated  and  printed  in  the 
Montgomeryshire  Collections,  is  indented,  and  reads  as 
follows  : 

"  Omnibus  Christi  fidelibiis  ad  quos  presens  scriptum  perve- 
nerit  H.  de  Albadomo  A.  de  Dora  et  K.  de  Kayrlyon  dicti  abba- 
tes  eternam  [in]  domino  salutem  mandatum  Capituli  generalis 
in  hec  verba  suscepimus.  Frater  G.  dictus  ab])as  Cisterciensis 
totiusque  conventus  abbatium  Capituli  generalis  Venerabilibus 
in  Christo  H.  de  Albadomo  A.  de  Dora  et  K.  de  Kayrlyon  abba- 
tibus  eternam  in  domino  salutem  Quia  compositio  cause  anno 
predicto  a  nobis  vobis  commisse  inter  abbatem  et  Conventum  de 
Cumhyr  ex  una  parte  et  abbatem  et  conventum  de  Pola  ex 
altera  hoc  anno  secundum  arrestaciones  quos  misistis  habito 
diligenti  consilio  est  revocata  auctoritate  generalis  Capituli  dis- 
tincte  percipientes  vobis  mandamus  quatenus  omnia  que  in  dicta 
compositione  continentur  ea  non  obstante  reducantur  in  eum 
statum  quo  erat  die  quo  ipsa  compositio  dicitur  esse  facta  Ipsam 
vero  compositionem  ad  cantelam  dedimus  uni  vestrorum  abbati 
scilicet  AJbedomi  ut  omnia  in  pristinum  statum  reducantur 
Volumus  etiam  de  equitate  ut  xxv  libre  reddantur  abbati  et 
con  veil  tui  de  Pola  ab  abbate  et  conventu  de  Cumhyr  dantes 
vobis  plenariam  potestatem  ut  predictos  compellatis  predicta 
servare  sique  aliquis  parcium  brachium  seculare  adierit  quam 
aliam  partem  quominus  gaudeat  possessiouibus  sibi  adjudicatis 
gravissime  ordinis  auctoritate  puniatur  et  si  sic  hoc  respuerit 
nuncietis  sequenti  Capitulo  generali  Actum  anno  gracie  Mccxxvi 

^  Afon  Llwydy  which  runs  almost  a  parallel  course  with  Afon 
Buga,  and  falls  into  Gly wedog,  to  the  north  of  Bnga. 

*  The  efiect  of  these  two  words  is  overlooked  in  the  translation. 


210  NOTES   TO  THE  ACCOUNT 

Hujus  gratia  auctoritatis  mandati  in  dicta  causa  precedeiites 
post  varias  altercaciones  per  compromissionem  in  arbitros  tan- 
dem lis  sopita  est  sub  hac  forma  Gr.  abbas  de  Pola  ex  consentu 
conventus  sui  et  A.  abbas  de  Cumhyr  ex  assensu  conventus  sui 
comparentes  associatis  suis  de  senioribus  et  consiliariis  domo- 
rum  suarum  circiter  quinquaginta  personis  compromiserunt  et 
nos  H.  de  Albadomo  et  K.  de  Kayrlyon  eidem  cause  abbates 
execu tores  P.  etiam  abbates  de  Strat  Flur  S.  et  A.  de  Dora  et 
de  Kayrlyon  subpriores  quod  starent  nostro  arbitrio  supra  diqtis 
terris  et  omnibus  aliis  quos  in  presencia  possident  tam  illi  de 
Pola  quam  illi  de  Cumhyr  sub  pena  centum  marcarum  solvenda 
alteri  ab  ilia  parte  que  resilit  retro  Factum  est  autem  hoc  arbi- 
trium  anno  gracie  Mccxxvii  Idibus  lulii  apud  Eadenor  in  hac 
forma  Videlicet  quod  tota  terra  que  monachonim  est  medio  in- 
ter Wych  et  Buga  a  mora  sursum  que  est  supra  Perveth  Menyth 
in  directum  per  medium  dividatur  in  longum  quamdiu  duravit 
sive  usque  Pemlumon  sive  usque  ad  quemlibet  alium  locum  ut 
diniidietur  inter  duos  domos  et  ilia  medietas  que  est  versus 
Luyth  remaneat  illis  de  Pola  et  ab  ilia  medietate  totam  terram 
de  Cumbuga  et  Blangwy  in  terminis  suis  habeant  illi  de  Cum- 
hyr Inter  Corw  autem  et  Eniaun  illam  partem  que  pertinet  ad 
Credig^  habeant  illi  de  Cumhyr  et  illam  partem  que  pertinet  ad 
Keveyllauch  habeant  illi  de  Pola  De  xxii°  et  i  libris  quondam 
receptis  pro  Cumbuga  et  modo  per  generalem  Capitulum  domui 
de  Pola  duas  partes  habeant  monachi  de  Pola  «t  terciam  partem 
monachi  de  Cumhyr  Preterea  de  terra  que  in  presencia  tam  a 
monachis  de  Pola  quam  a  monachis  de  Cumhyr  possidentur  ab 
invicem  in  perpetuam  sine  calumpnia  permanebunt  et  omnia 
septa  et  munimenta  huic  arbitrio  adversan  pro  nichilo  habe- 
antur  Quicunque  vero  monachi  vel  conversi  banc  formam  pacis 
infirmare  contenderint  adomibus  propriis  usque  in  remotos  domos 
extra  Walliam  emittantur  nunquam  reversuri  non  per  generale 
Capitulum  et  quicumque  celaverit  aliquid  instrumentum  huic 
compositioni  prodesse  potuerit  vel  retinuerit  de  cetero  non  ex 
consensu  patris  abbatis  excommunietur  Hanc  autem  composi- 
tionis  formam  in  Capitulis  utriusque  domus  legi  fecimus  cui  non 
sit  contradictum  Etiam  ut  ista  compositio  rata  et  inconcussa 
permaneat  in  perpetuum  dicti  arbitri  et  G.  de  Pola  et  A.  de 
Cumhyr  et  (  )  de  Valle  Crucis  abbates  una  nobiscum  presenti 
scripto  de  consensu  utriusque  conventus  sigilla  sua  apposuerunt 
Hiis  testibus  Kenweryc  de  Kayrlyon  Hoytlec  de  Alba  Domo 
et  Dolphino  de  Stratflur  Eicardo  de  Bruera  et  Nicola  de  Build- 
was  monachis  Caducauo  filio  Itael  de  Stratflur  David  de  Ab/' 

1  "  Ceredig",  Cardigan. 


OF  CWMHIR  ABBEY.  211 

The  wax  seals  are  worn  away,  but  the  slips  of  parch- 
ment to  which  they  were  aflBxed  remain.  On  the  first 
slip  is  written,  in  a  minute  hand,  "  Subprioris  de  Dora"; 
on  the  second,  "  de  Kayrlion"j  on  the  third,  *'  de  Pola"; 
on  the  fourth,  "  de  Stratflur";  and  on  the  fifth,  *'  de 
Valle  Crucis". 

The  division  thus  made  of  the  territory  in  dispute 
confirms  the  view  that '  it  was  open  and  unenclosed 
moorland,  of  which  the  monks  alone  had  sufficient  means 
to  avail  themselves  for  the  pasturage  of  a  few  sheep 
or  cattle  during  the  summer  months,  under  the  care 
of  a  shepherd  occupying  a  small  hut  or  hafocl  on  the 
mountain,  or  a  grange  in  the  valley. 

The  Ecclesiastical  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas  (1291 
A.D.)  throws  a  dim  light  on  the  efforts  of  these  Welsh 
monastic  houses  to  avail  themselves  of  the  natural  pro- 
ductions of  the  soil,  and  become  the  pioneers  of  cultiva- 
tion in  a  wild,  elevated,  and  thinly  populated  country 
which  had  no  advantages  of  soil  or  climate.  Under  the 
head  of  *'Fructus",or  "Exitus  Animalium",  we  obtain  an 
account  of  the  live  stock  which  each  monastic  house 
was  supposed  to  possess  in  the  archdeaconries  of  Car- 
digan and  Carmarthen.  The  sheep  and  cattle  are 
stated  to  be  *'salva  custodia",  which  leads  to  the  infer- 
ence that  they  were  under  the  care  of  a  shepherd,  and 
not  in  the  hands  of  a  tenant. 

The  live  stock  of  Abbey  Cwmhir  is  small  in  compa- 
rison, with  that  of  the  Abbeys  of  Strata  Florida  and 
Whitland.  It  consisted  of  128  cows,  300  sheep,  and 
26  mares  (probably  ponies),  valued  in  all  at  £13  4^.  In 
Cardiganshire,  Cw^mhir  had,  in  addition,  the  grange  of 
Nantyrariant,  and  two  carucates  of  uncultivated  land, 
with  a  mill,  valued  at  135.  8c?.;  and  in  the  diocese  of 
Fangor,  the  grange  of  Cwmbuga  and  Estermeyn,^  two 
carucates  of  land,  with  other  advantages  valued  at  £1. 
The  mention  of  carucates  or  ploughlands  suggests  that 
cultivation  of  portions  of  the  hill-sides  and  favourable 
parts  of  the  valleys  had  commenced.     The  extent  of  a 

*  Esgair  y  maen. 


212  NOTES  TO  THE  ACCOUNT 

carucate  varied  with  the  district,  and  depended  on  the 
estimate  of  what  a  man  might  reasonably  plough  dur- 
ing the  proper  season,  allowance  being  made  ibr  the 
situation  of  the  land,  and  whether  the  soil  was  heavy 
or  light. 

Scanty  as  are  the  written  records  of  cultivation,  the 
hill-sides  in  Wales  afford,  as  in  Scotland,  evidence  of 
early  cultivation  of  the  only  crops,  rye  and  oats,  which 
ripen  on  the  higher  hills,  in  traces  on  the  turf  of 
ancient  enclosures  with  plough-marks,  and  of  sites  of 
huts.^  Such  traces  are  frequent  on  the  uninclosed  hills 
in  Radnorshire,  especially  on  those  which  adjoined,  or 
were  near,  the  possessions  of  Cwmhir ;  as  in  Scotland, 
we  there  meet  with,  on  the  hill-sides  above  the  en- 
closed land,  "  little  rings  of  mouldered  wall  or  of  turfy 
ridges,  sometimes  circular,  sometimes  oblong,  always 
very  small,  and  generally  placed  in  groups,  suggesting 
rather  the  huts  of  a  temporary  encampment  than  per- 
manent buildings'V  on  spots  where  the  ground  is  dry 
and  sheltered,  with  traces  more  or  less  distinct  of  a  few 
enclosures  adjoining,  covered  with  turf  apparently  as 
old  as  that  of  the  surrounding  hill. 

That  such  a  practice  prevailed  in  the  manor  of  GoU- 
on,  we  learn  from  a  prohibition  "  for  any  stranger  to 
erect  any  cottage  or  summer-house  within  its  precincts, 
nor  to  herd  or  settle  cattle  in  any  part  of  the  lord- 
ship", contained  in  an  old  survey  of  the  manor,  to 
which  reference  will  be  again  made. 

Another  subject  for  remark  is  the  evidence  which 
the  chartera  to  Cwmhir  and  Ystrad  Marchell  afford 
that  the  owner  of  a  cantred  or  lordship  was  sole  owner 
of  the  uninclosed  land  within  it,  and  exercised  the 
right  to  grant  rights  of  pasturage  over  all  or  any  part 
of  it, — a  right  which  the  law  recognised  as  common  in 

^  A  very  interesting  short  paper  on  this  subject  was  read  by  Mr. 
Dyke  (who  is  well  acquainted  with  the  hills  in  Radnorshire)  at  Lud- 
low during  the  Church  Stretton  Meeting.  (Arch.  Camh.,  4th  Ser., 
vol.  xii,  p.  354.) 

«  Scotland  as  it  Was  and  as  it  Is,  pp.  197-99. 


OF  CWMHIR  ABBEY.  213 

gross,  exercisable  only  by  an  ecclesiastical  or  lay  corpo- 
ration, but  not  to  the  prejudice  of  the  lord's  rights, 
nor  to  the  exclusion  of  the  commoners  who  by  grant 
or  usage  were  entitled  to  depasture  on  the  common 
lands  the  estimated  number  of  cattle  which  could  be 
maintained  during  the  winter  on  their  ancient  tene- 
ment. That  such  was  the  usage  appears  by  an  explana- 
tion in  Roger  Mortimer's  confirmation  (a.d.  1314)  of  his 
father's  grant  to  the  men  of  Maelienydd,  that  it 
should  not  be  lawful  for  the  Convent  of  Cwmhir  to 
overstock  the  pasturage,  but  that  it  should  leave  a  suf- 
ficiency of  open  common  and  pasturage  for  the  lord's 
beasts  in  his  Forest. 

It  is  probable  that  in  the  early  part  of  the  thirteenth 
century  the  monks  may  have  had  almost  the  sole  en- 
joyment of  the  pasturage  on  the  mountains  of  Arwstli, 
Cefeiliog,  Maelienydd,  and  Kerry,  as  almost  the  only 
possessors  of  flocks  and  capital.  We  have  seen  that 
Meredith  ap  Maelgon  granted  to  the  monks  of  Cwmhir 
common  of  pasture  over  the  whole  of  the  wide  district 
of  Maelienydd  and  Kerry,  that  Gwenwynwyn  granted 
to  Cwmhir  rights  of  pasturage  everywhere  in  Arwstli 
and  Cyfeiliog,  and  Roger  Mortimer  a  right  of  common 
in  Worthen.  Another  instance  of  a  like  grant  is  that 
made  in  1214  by  Thomas  de  Fresne,^  who  held  under 
the  Mortimers  the  lordship  of  Prestmede  (now  Pres- 
teign),  to  the  Abbey  and  canons  of  Wigmore,  of  pas- 
turage over  the  whole  of  his  manor,  except  lands  that 
were  sown,  and  meadows. 

After  the  Dissolution,  the  possessions  of  Cwmhir 
passed  into  various  hands,  but  the  presentments  made 
by  the  jury  at  the  courts  held  for  the  manor  of  GoUon 
and  lordship  of  Cwmhir  served  to  keep  alive  traditions 
as  to  the  monks'  rights  and  possessions.  We  may, 
therefore,  well  conclude  with  a  selection  of  the  present- 
ments which  throw  a  light  on  this  subject : — 

^  *'  Gum  libera  commnna  et  cam  libera  pastnra  per  totnin  nos- 
trum de  Prestmede  in  excepcione  absqne  manifesto  detrimento  sato- 
rum  et  pratomm." — Arch.  Camb,^  vol.  xiii,  4th  Series,  p.  140. 


214  NOTES  TO  THE  ACCOUNT 

"Also  observe  that  the  place  called  LlecheUvihan, 
being  a  common  where  the  Abbot  had  his  sheep  kept, 
and  a  sheepcot  standing  thereon,  the  walls  being  of 
stone,  and  ruinated,  it  may  appear  that  it  was  a  large 
'building,  because  it  doth  appear  thereby  that  it  hath 
seven  doors,  and  lieth  within  the  parish  of  Llanvihan- 
gel  Cefnllys,  in  the  county  of  Radnor. 

'*And  further  alloweth  to  the  tenants  near  common 
of  pasture  throughout  all  Melenith  and  Warteignon." 

After  some  imperfect  guesses  as  to  the  foundation  of 
the  Abbey,  a  further  presentment  proceeds  as  follows  : 
"We  suppose  these  lands  hereinafter  following  were 
also  given  at  the  foundation,  viz.,  Cliro  Grange,  which 
is  now  in  the  lord's  possession  ;  Brilley  Grange ;  Mon- 
aughty  Grange,  in  the  parish  of  Blethvah  ;  Monaughty 
Poeth  Grange,  in  the  parish  of  Knighton  ;  Gwernwoge 
Grange,  in  the  parish  of  Kerry,  in  the  county  of  Mont- 
gomery ;  Hopton  Grange,  in  the  said  county ;  and 
Cwmbige  Grange  in  the  same  county  ;  all  these  (Cliro 
Grange  excepted)  not  now  belonging  to  the  Abbey  or 
lordship."^ 

A  few  original  documents,  being  all  that  relate  to 
Cwmhir,  in  Liber  Niger  de  Wigmore  are  added. 


The  Abbot  and  Convent  of  Cwmhir  quit-claim  in  the 
lands  of  Karwyton  and  Bryncroys  to  Ralph  Mortimer 
and  Gladys  his  wife.     Date  between  1227  and  1246  : 

Harleian  MS,  1240,  Liber  Niger  de  Wigmore. 
"  WARTHREYNOUN  &  MELENYTH. 

"  viij.   Lescrit  par  quele  labbe  et  Couent  de  Comhire  ont  relesse 
a  Rauf  de  Mortemer  les  terres  de  Karwyton  et  Bryncrois. 

"  Omnibus  Christi  fidelibus  ad  quos  presens  carta  pervenerit 
Abbas  et  Conventus  de  Kumyr'  salutem  in  Domino.     Noverit 

1  From  copy  of  the  original  Court  Roll  of  a  survey,  and  the  pre- 
sentments made  at  a  court  leet  and  court  baron  of  Sir  William  Fow- 
ler, Bart.,  on  17th  Oct.  1760,  in  the  manuscript  collections  of  the 
late  Mr.  Percival  Lewis  of  Downton,  apparently  incprporating  an 
older  roll,  in  1625,  before  Thomas  Worswick,  steward. 


OF  CWMHIR  ABBEY .  215 

vniversitas  vestra  nos  de  communi  assensu  et  consensu  nostro  et 
Capituli  nostri  de  Kumyr'  totum  ius  et  clameum  si  quod  habui- 
mus  vel  habere  potuimus  in  terris  de  Karwyton*  et  Bryncroys 
cum  omnibus  pertinenciis  earundem  omnino  quiete  clamasse 
Domino  Radulfo  de  Mortuo  Mari  et  Gladuse  vxori  sue  et  here- 
dibus  eorum  pro  nobis  et  successoribus  nostris  imperpetuum. 
Ita  quod  nos  vel  successores  nostri  nichil  iuris  vel  clamei  in 
predictis  terris  cum  pertinenciis  decetero  exigemus  vel  exigere 
poterimus  Et  vt  hec  nostra  quieta  clamacio  perpetue  firmitatis 
robur  optiueat  quia  non  est  moris  ordinis  nostri  quod  sigillum 
babeamus  commune  nisi  sigillum  Abbatis  de  communi  assensu 
nostro  huic  presenti  carte  sigillum  Abbatis  appositum  est  Hiis 
testibus  Briano  de  Brompton'  .  Johanne  de  Lyngayn'  .  Henrico 
de  Mortuo  Mari .  Philippe  de  Mortuo  Mari .  Eadulfo  Arac'.  Phi- 
lippe le  Brett .  Philippe  filio  Luce  .  Meredud  Vahan  .  Henrico 
filio  Philippe  Worgano  Du  .  et  multis  aliis." 

Philip  Abbot  of  Cwmhir  and  the  Convent  grant  to 
Roger  Mortimer,  son  of  Ralph  Mortimer,  the  right  to 
enclose  with  hedges,  for  the  hunting  of  animals  of  the 
chase,  in  the  Convent's  wood  of  Cwmhir,  and  to  have 
wood  for  the  purpose.     Date  between  1246  and  1282  : 

"  .ix.  La  chartre  par  quele  labbe  et  Couent  de  Comhir  ont 
grantez  a  Roger  de  Mortemer  de  faire  hayes  pur  lour  beis 
de  Comhir  pur  son  sauuagyn  etc. 

"  Vniversis  Christi  fidelibus  ad  quorum  noticiam  presens  scrip- 
tum  pervenerit  Philippus  dictus  Abbas  de  Cumhyr^  et  eiusdem 
loci  Conuentus  salutem  in  Domino  etemam  Noveritis  nos  con- 
cessisse  dilecte  Domino  nostro  Eogero  de  Mortuo  Mari  filio 
Eadulfi  de  Mortuo  Mari  et  heredibus  suis  pro  nobis  et  successo- 
ribus suis  quod  licite  possent  per  boscum  nostrum  de  Cumhyr 
facere  hayas  suas  ad  deductum  suum  circa  venacionem  melius 
habendum  Et  quod  habeant  materiam  de  bosco  nostro  ad  pre- 
dictas  hayas  tantum  faciendas  Ita  tamen  quod  non  impediamur 
ab  aliquo  commodo  in  predicto  bosco  nostro  ad  omnes  vsus  qua- 
lescumque  voluerimus  faciendum  In  cuius  rei  testimonium 
huic  scripto  sigillum  nostrum  apposuimus  Hiis  testibus .  Thoma 
Corbet .  Briano  de  Brompton .  Henrico  de  Mortuo  Mari .  Johanne 
de  Lyngeyne .  Henrico  de  Wulhaumptone .  Howelo  filio  Meurici » 
Waltero  Hakelutel .  Ricardo  Suyftt .  et  Willelmo  fratre  .  suo 
clericis  et  aliis/^ 

Roger  Mortimer  refers  to  the  grant  of  his  father, 
Edmund  Mortimer,  to  his  men  of  Melenith ;  in  parti- 


216  NOTES  TO  THB  ACCOUNT 

cular  to  a  clause  that  if  any  one  of  them  had  wood  bote 
or  pasturage  in  the  land  of  the  Convent  of  Cwmhir,  by 
grant  of  the  Abbot  and  Convent,  he  might  peaceably 
enjoy  the  same  privilege ;  and  then  confirms  his  father^ 
grant,  with  a  proviso  that  it  should  not  be  lawful  for 
the  Abbot  and  Convent  to  sell  or  give  wood,  nor  over- 
stock the  pasturage  so  that  there  should  not  remain 
for  the  beasts  of  Mortimer's  forest  a  sufficiency  of  open 
ground  and  pasturage. 

"  .X.  La  chartre  par  quele  Roger  de  Mortemer  ad  confirme  la 
chartre  quele  Monsire  Esraon  de  Mortemer  fist  as  tenanz 
de  Meleneth  dauoir  bois  ou  pasture  du  grant  labbe  et  Gouent 
de  Comhir  issint  que  nul  preiudice  soit  al  sauagyn  le  dit 
Sieur  illeoges. 

"  Rogerus  de  Mortuo  Mari  Dominus  de  Wygemore  et  de  Trym 
dilectis  et  fidelibus  hominibus  suis  de  Melenith  salutem  in 
Domino  sempiternam  Sciatis  nos  inspexisse  quandam  conces- 
sionem  quam  dilectus  pater  noster  Dominus  Edmundus  de  Mor- 
tuo Mari  fecit  hominibus  nostris  de  Melenith  de  aliquibus  Uber- 
tatibus  in  dicta  concessione  contentis  Inter  quas  talis  clausula 
continetur  quod  dictus  pater  noster  voluerit  et  concessit  quod  si 
aliquis  eorundum  boscum  seu  pasturam  in  terra  Domini  Abbatis 
et  Conuentus  de  Comhir  ex  eorundem  concessione  habuerit  con- 
cesso  sibi  bosco  et  pastura  .  a  predicto  Domino  Abbate  et  Con- 
ventu  pacifice  gaudeat  &  quiete  absque  eius  seu  alicuius  Ballivi 
sui  molestia  vel  impedimento  Quam  quidem  clausulam  conce- 
dimus  et  per  presentes  confirmamus  Ita  tamen  quod  per  istam 
concessionem  et  nostram  confirmacionem  non  liceat  dicto  Abbati 
nee  Conuentui  de  bosco  tantum  vendere  seu  donare  nee  pastu- 
ram tantum  onerare  per  quod  bestiis  nostris  de  Foresta  nostra 
non  remaneat  suflBciencia  cooperti  et  pasture  Et  vt  hec  nostra 
confirmacio  firma  sit  et  stabilis  imperpetuum  huic  presenti 
scripto  sigillum  nostrum  apposuimus  Hiis  testibus  Domino 
Philippe  Dei  gratia  Abbate  de  Wygmore  .  Domino  Johanne  de 
Lyngeyne  .  Domino  Rogero  de  Sapy  Militibus  .  Hugone  Hake- 
lut'  tunc  Seneschallo  nostro  de  Meleneith .  Willelmo  de  la  Hulle . 
et  multis  aliis  Data  apud  Wygemore  die  Lune  in  festo  Sancti 
Botulphi  Anno  regni  Regis  Edwardi  filio  Regis  Edwardi  sep- 
timo/'     (17  June  1314.) 

Griffith,  Abbot  of  Cwmhir,  and  the  Convent,  indem- 
nify Roger  Mortimer  from  the  payment  of  a  yearly 


OP  CWMHIR  ABBEY.  217 

rent  of  two  marcs  to  Humphrey  de  Bohun,  lord  of  the 
manor  of  Welsh  Huntington,  for  the  land  of  Brynlegh 
(now  Brilley),  called  "  La  Speys",  the  gift  of  Roger  to 
the  Convent. 

".xj.  La  chartre  par  quele  labbe  et  Couent  de  Comhir  sent 
tenuz  a  paier  annuelement  deux  marez  pur  Eoger  de  Mor- 
temer  a  Hunfrey  de  Bohun  et  ses  heirs  pur  les  terres  de 
Brunlegh*. 

"  Omnibus  ad  quos  presens  scriptum  peruenerit  Griffinus  Dei 
gratia  Abbas  de  Commir  et  eiusdem  loci  Conuentus  salutem  in 
Domino  Nouerit  vniversitas  vestra  nos  et  successores  nostros 
teneri  acquietare  Dominum  Eogerum  de  Mortuo  Mari  et  heredes 
sues  de  duabus  marcis  annualis  redditus  versus  Dominum  Hum- 
fridum  de  Bohun  et  heredes  sues  pro  terra  de  Brynlegh'  que 
vocatur  la  Speys  quam  idem  Dominus  Rogerus  nobis  et  succes- 
soribus  nostris  dedit  nos  vero  absoluimus  dictum  Eogerum  de 
omnibus  incuriis  nobis  et  domui  nostre  per  ipsum  Eogerum  et 
sues  ex  parte  ipsius  Eogeri  et  voluntate  et  precepto  illatis  et 
omniuo  quiete  clamauimus  vsque  ad  diem  Sabbati  in  festis 
Sancti  Dionisii  Anno  regni  Eegis  Henrico  filio  Eegis  Johannis 
quadragesimo  quarto  In  cuius  rei  testimonium  presenti  scripto 
sigillum  apposuimus."     (1259, 1260.) 


218 


ON    SOME    MEDIAEVAL    MILITARY 

DEFENCES. 


BY  J.  R.  COBB. 


LIBERA.TE  Roll,  23  Henry  III  (Mr.  Parker's  rendering), — "  We 
order  you  to  make  at  our  Castle  of  Winchester  a  drawbridge 
with  a  bretache  over  it,  at  the  entry  of  the  great  tower. 
(Clarendon,  Nov.  24) 

7J.,  25  Henry  III, — "  And  to  make  in  the  same  Tower 
(London),  on  the  south  side,  at  the  top,  deep  alures  of  good 
and  strong  timber  entirely,  and  well  covered  with  lead, 
through  which  people  may  look  even  unto  the  foot  of  the 
same  Tower,  and  ascend  and  better  defend  it,  if  need  be." 
(Dec.  10.) 

Close  Roll,  9  Henry  III. — The  King  enjoins  all  who  have 
"  motas  in  valle  de  Muntgumery  bonis  bretaschiis  firmari 
faciant".     (May  30.) 

The  above  extracts  refer  to  the  earliest  known  lift- 
bridge  and  to  the  overhanging  defences  of  it,  and  of 
the  towers  and  walls,  adopted  about  the  same  time. 
M.  Viollet  le  Due  considers  that  lift-bridges  were  not 
used  until  much  later ;  but  as  Mr.  Wykeham  Martin 
points  out  in  his  excellent  work  on  his  Castle  of  Ledes, 
it  is  clear  from  the  above  entry  that  they  were  adopted 
as  early  as  1239.  Where  they  occur  in  connection  with 
Norman  work,  they  must,  I  think,  be  considered  as 
additions. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  principle  of  their  construc- 
tion is  generally  misunderstood.  It  is,  I  believe,  gene- 
rally supposed  that  they  were  simple  wooden  road- 
ways spanning  the  ditch  only,  hung  on  pivots  at  the 
castle  end,  working  in  sockets  in  front  of  the  portcullis 
and  gate,  and  lifted  by  chains  passing  through  the  wall 
over  a  windlass  in  the  chamber  above  the  portal. 

I  feel  satisfied  that  generally,  if  not,  indeed,  always, 
the  bridge  was  about  double  the  length  of  what  is 
above  described,  and  that  it  was  balanced  on  trunnions 
near  the  centre  of  its  length,  working  in  the  sockets 


SOME  MEDIAEVAL  MILITARY  DEFENCES.  21  9 

supported  on  a  wall  reaching  from  side  to  side  of  the 
portal ;  that  there  was  a  pit  of  masonry  or  hewn  rock 
inside  this  wall,  and  inside  the  portcullis;  and  that 
the  castle  end  of  the  bridge,  nearly,  if  not  quite,  equal 
in  weight  to  the  ditch  end,  went  down  into  this  pit, 
and  by  its  own  weight  raised  the  other  end  into  the 
recess  or  space  commonly  formed  for  it,  outside  the 
portcullis. 

This  was  certainly  the  case  at  Pembroke,  where 
there  are  two  such  pits  (now  covered  up,  though 
opened  by  me  once)  between  the  barbican  cottage  and 
the  outer  portcullis-arch  ;  at  Carew,  at  Manorbere,  at 
Cydweli,  at  CaerflSili  (six  or  eight),  at  Goderich,  at  Chep- 
stow, west  gate ;  everywhere  where  I  have  had  a  chance 
of  testing  ;  and  also,  I  believe,  even  at  the  King's  Gate 
at  Caernarvon,  and  at  what  is  called  the  Norman  Gate 
at  Windsor. 

I  feel  very  confident  that  at  both  these  places  last 
named,  as  at  Warwick  and  many  others,  the  removal 
of  a  very  few  inches  of  the  roadway  inside  the  portcul- 
lis groove  would  reveal  the  existence  of  a  pit  as  wide  as 
the  portal,  and  almost  as  long  and  as  deep  as  the  outer 
end  of  the  bridge. 

In  most  cases  the  bridge  was  worked  from  the  portal- 
floor.  For  use,  all  that  was  necessary  was  to  secure 
that  the  heel,  or  castle  end,  should  not  give  way  and 
descend  into  the  pit  as  traffic  passed  over  it.  This 
could  be  efl^ected  in  fifty  very  simple  ways,  leaving  no 
mark, — a  wooden  wedge  would  have  been  sufficient. 
To  lift  the  bridge,  all  that  was  necessary  was  to  allow 
the  heavy  heel  to  sink  into  its  pit;  and  when  the 
bridge  was  to  be  used  again,  to  pull  it  back.  It  is  ob- 
vious a  very  little  arrangement  would  efiect  this.  I 
can  myself,  with  a  little  mechanical  help  (which  I  hope 
shortly  to  dispense  with),  work  my  restoration  at  Cal- 
decot ;  and  I  believe  my  bridge  there  is  strong  enough 
to  carry  the  '^  magnaB  carrectse"  of  Aymer  de  Valence, 
which  did  so  much  damage  at  Ledes. 

Doubtless   there  were  frequently  chains   from  the 

5th  bib.,  vol.  t.  16 


220  SOME  MEDIiEVAL  MILITARY  DEFENCES. 

pier-end  of  the  bridge,  passing  through  holes  into  the 
chamber  above  the  portal :  but  I  believe  these  were 
used  only  to  steady  the  bridge,  and  to  prevent  its  being 
pulled  down  by  an  assailant. 

If  the  bridge  were  lifted,  as  it  was  intended  to  be, 
so  as  to  be  quite  perpendicular  in  its  recess,  and  over 
the  dead  point  of  the  socket,  the  castle  people  would 
be  likely  to  find  themselves  unable  to  lower  the  bridge 
if  there  was  no  heel  to  pull  at. 

Whether  it  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  design  of  the 
builder  acting  on  the  orders  of  Thomas  of  Wodestok, 
Duke  of  Gloucester,  or  to  the  excellence  of  the  material 
available,  I  do  not  know  ;  but  what  I  saw  when  I  first 
visited  Caldecot  filled  me  with  a  desire  to  dig  and  see 
more,  as  I  satisfied  myself  that  at  no  place  I  had  seen 
was  the  arrangement  better  to  be  studied,  or  effected 
on  so  grand  a  design  and  with  such  finish.  I  became 
owner,  and  I  dug,  and  was  not  disappointed.  I  at  once 
cleared  the  ditch,  and  found  the  base  of  the  pier  on 
which  the  bridge  fell  in  situ,  about  10  feet  below  the 
surface ;  and  I  also  cleared  the  pit,  which  was  perfect, 
down  to  its  rock-floor. 

The  total  length,  from  the  Castle  end  of  the  pit  to 
the  pier,  is  34  feet ;  to  the  wall  carrying  the  trunnion, 
15  feet.  This  wall  is  15  feet  high  from  the  bottom  of 
the  ditch,  but  it  is  7  feet  from  the  outer  face  of  the 
gate-house ;  thus  the  recess  in  which  the  bridge  is 
received  when  up  is  7  feet  from  the  face  of  the  gate- 
house ;  the  portal  is  1 1  feet  wide  ;  and  from  the  bottom 
of  the  ditch  to  the  vault  over  the  portal,  34  feet.  In 
this  vault  are  six  holes,  each  1 4  inches  square,  through 
which  water  and  missiles  could  be  thrown  to  protect 
the  outside  of  the  bridge  from  fire  or  other  attack. 

On  the  west  side  of  the  recess  is  a  square  hole, 
through  which  a  beam,  served  from  the  captain's  end 
of  the  west  guardroom,  prevented  the  bridge  being 
lowered  until  the  beam  was  drawn  in  ;  while  on  the 
east  side  of  the  portal  is  the  hole  through  which  the 
bolt  of  the  outer  gate  was  drawn  into  the  east  guard- 


SOME  MEDTiEVAL  MILITARY  DEFENCES.  221 

room  before  that  gate  could  be  opened ;  and  the  two 
portcullises  had  to  be  raised  ;  so  that  it  was  necessary 
for  one  man  at  least  to  pull  at  the  heel  of  the  bridge, 
another  to  draw  into  the  west  guardroom  the  beam 
from  it,  a  third  in  the  east  guardroom  to  fetch  home 
the  bolt  of  the  outer  gate,  and  others  upstiiirs  to  lift 
the  herse,  giving  occupation  enough  without  having 
also  to  attend  to  a  windlass.  Moreover,  here  there  are 
no  chain-holes,  so  that  some  other  method  than  lifting 
by  a  chain  and  windlass  must  have  been  adopted. 

Here,  as  at  Cydweli,  the  inner  portcullis-grate  rose 
flush  against  the  inner  side  of  the  north  wall  of  the 
building,  and  immediately  in  front  of  the  fireplace,  so 
that  no  one  could  see  or  feel  the  fire  when  it  was  up. 
The  chamber  in  which  it  rises  is  a  state  room  certainly 
25  feet,  and  possibly  36  feet,  by  23,  and  17  feet  high, 
with  handsome  windows  and  stone  seats  in  wrought 
recesses,  and  a  grand  fireplace;  yet  it  follows  either 
that  the  occupiers  must  have  used  it  with  the  fire  thus 
obscured  by  the  raised  portcullis,  or  the  latter  must 
have  been  kept  lowered  with  the  wind  whistling 
through  the  slit,  and  the  men  entering  the  chamber  to 
lift  the  former  every  time  any  one  wanted  to  pass  in  or 
out  of  the  Castle.  And  from  the  bedrooms  adjoining, 
and  their  arrangements,  with  the  oratory  in  front,  I 
cannot  doubt  that  this  room  was  intended  for  the  use 
of  Thomas  himself,  and  was  actually  that  used  by 
Edmund  Earl  of  Richmond  and  his  young  Countess. 
It  is  certain  that  each  of  the  first-floor  windows  had 
canopies  over,  and  that  the  sills  of  some  were  sup- 
ported on  sculptured  heads  (two,  indeed,  remain), 
while  the  sculptured  bosses  of  the  portal-groin,  and 
the  corbels  of  the  machicolations  of  the  west  turret, 
all  portraits, — the  grand  and  separate  stairs  giving 
access,  and  the  excellence  of  the  masonry,  leave  no 
doubt  as  to  these  rooms  being  designed  for  the  most 
distinguished  occupation.  The  outer  portcullis  lifted 
against  the  wall  of  the  oratory,  as  at  Harlech.  And  in 
addition  to  all  this,  the  two  holes  in  the  centre  bosses 

16  » 


222  SOME  MEDIEVAL  MILITARY  DEFENCES. 

of  the  portal  groining  were  fitted  with  movable  stones 
lifted  by  an  iron  ring  (one  of  which  yet  remains),  and 
thus  command  was  given  from  above  of  the  whole  space 
between  the  two  portcullises.  I  believe  these  last  were 
used  for  the  purpose  of  listening  to  what  was  said,  as 
well  as  for  more  active  offence  if  necessary.  Nearly 
every  portal-vault  I  have  examined  has  something  of 
this  sort,  but  I  know  of  no  other  case  so  finished. 

As  regards  the  object  of  the  ribbing  of  the  portal- 
passage,  so  common  in  all  Edwardian  castles,  I  yet  feel 
uncertain.  It  is  most  fully  developed  at  Harlech, 
where  the  ribs  and  chases  between  take  up  the  entire 
length.  It  may  be  that  the  floor  above  was  of  planks 
resting  on  the  stone  ribs,  but  capable  of  being  removed 
so  as  to  use  the  chases.  At  Pembroke  the  covering  of  the 
chases  is  of  stone,  and  it  looks  ancient.  I  can  scarcely 
think  the  chases  were  designed  for  letting  down  ob- 
structive timbers.  At  Pembroke  the  room  above  is  so 
low,  it  is  impossible  to  lower  from  it  timber  sufficiently 
long  to  stand  vertically,  while  there  would  certainly 
have  been  side-grooves  if  it  was  intended  the  timbers 
should  have  been  horizontal,  especially  if  they  were  to 
be  used,  as  has  been  suggested,  as  barricades,  with 
stone  filling  between  them.  Any  way,  these  spaces 
seem  gradually  to  have  been  abandoned,  and  to  have 
been  replaced  by  holes  of  various  kinds  and  sizes, — 
finally,  temp.  Eichard  II,  ending  in  the  groined  vault. 

I  do  not  know  whether  the  term  "  bretache"  should 
be  applied  to  projecting  constructions  elsewhere  than 
over  the  portal.  Norman  builders  do  not  appear  to 
have  used  either  bridge  or  bretache ;  those  named  in 
the  Roll  first  quoted  were  probably  both  of  timber. 
But  the  bretache  was  shortly  improved  upon  by  being 
constructed  on  beams  of  timber  supported  on  project- 
ing stone  corbels  ;  and  these  again  by  regular  masonry 
machicolations,  of  which  many  examples  exist.  The  last 
culminated  in  recessing  the  bridge,  and  placing  what  I 
suppose  should  be  called  "  meurtieres"  in  the  vault. 

Caldecot  has  four  entrances, — the  earliest,  that  of 
the  round  moated  keep,  is  a  first  floor  entrance.     In 


SOME  MEDIEVAL  MILITARY  DEFENCES.  223 

my  opinion  this  tower  is  of  King  John  s  time,  though 
the  highly  accomplished  President  of  the  Monmouth- 
shire Association  still  thinks  it  Norman.  It  has  neither 
bridge,  bretache,  nor  portcullis.  The  second  in  date  is 
probably  temp.  Henry  II.  It  is  round-headed,  and  has 
a  portcullis,  but  no  bridge.  It  has  two  round  meur- 
tieres  in  the  arch  of  the  door-frame,  served  from  the 
portcullis-chamber  over.  This  gateway  is  on  one  side 
of  a  hoi'seshoe  tower,  like  the  earliest  entrance  at  Pem- 
broke, and  is  approached  parallel  with  the  curtain- wall. 
Certainly  the  whole  of  the  external  or  circular  part  of 
this  tower,  and  the  whole  circuit  of  the  keep,  had  holes 
for  projecting  timbers  above  great  stone  corbels,  some 
of  which  yet  remain. 

The  third  is  that  of  the  postern  tower.  It  has  the 
name  of  "  Thomas"  sculptured  on  its  gate-jamb.  It 
also  has  a  portcullis,  but  no  bridge.  It  has  a  portal- 
passage,  and  very  bold  machicolations  in  stone  over  it, 
and  round  the  whole  external  demi-octagon  of  the  tower. 

The  fourth  is  the  highly  finished  portal  of  Richard  II's 
time,  before  described,  with  bridge,  portcullis,  and  gate 
housed  in  a  recess,  with  meurtieres  in  its  vault,  and 
portal-passage,  with  porters'  seats  and  guardrooms  on 
each  side.  On  completion  of  the  last,  the  second  seems 
to  have  been  blocked,  and  that  tower  adapted  for  pur- 
poses of  residence,  a  fireplace  with  windows  on  each 
side  looking  into  the  court  occupying  the  roadway. 

But  besides  the  portal-defences,  it  seems  to  have 
been  customary  to  construct  projecting  galleries  on  the 
towers  and  elsewhere.  Mr.  Clark  speaks  of  these  at 
Caerffili,  stating  that  the  stone  corbels  yet  remain  in 
the  slanting,  and  therefore  inaccessible,  part  of  the 
south-east  angle  tower,  and  he  mentions  an  external 
door  at  Norham,  which  could  have  been  used  only  for 
access  to  an  external  gallery,  and  the  case  of  Ledes, 
but  adds  that  examples  are  exceedingly  rare.  The  beam- 
holes  and  other  arrangements  are  very  pronounced  in 
the  keep  at  Pembroke.  I  believe  those  galleries  were 
alures,  and  that  the  term  does  not  apply  to  the  ram- 
part walk  inside  the  parapet,  as  generally  considered. 


224  SOME  MEDI^SVAL  MILITARY  DEFENCES. 

At  Caldecot  the  removal  of  a  good  deal  of  the  over- 
whelming ivy  shows  the  arrangement  as  complete  as  it 
can  be  so  far  as  the  masonry  or  stonework  is  concerned  ; 
of  course  the  timber  has  all  perished.  The  keep  is  a 
double  horseshoe-tower,  all  of  excellent  ashlar,  the  heel 
of  the  larger  embracing  the  heel  of  the  smaller.  The 
latter  is  solid  up  to  the  level  of  the  rampart  walk  of 
the  former ;  there  it  has  a  vaulted  chamber  with  no 
window,  but  open,  and  with  no  side,  towards  the 
larger  tower.  From  it,  in  the  thickness  of  the  wall 
at  the  back  of  the  flues  from  the  chambers  below, 
is  a  passage  leading  to  an  external  door,  which  opens 
on  the  level  of  the  tops  of  square  holes  over  corbels 
which  projected  about  18  inches  from  the  whole  ex- 
terior of  the  larger  tower,  at  distances  about  3  feet 
apart ;  and  the  smaller  tower  had  like  holes  and  cor- 
bels, at  a  level  higher  by  a  story,  round  its  exterior. 
The  chamber  cannot  possibly  have  been  used  for  occu- 
pation, being  open  to  the  weather  ;  and  I  doubt  not  it 
was  designed  as  a  dep6t  for  the  stones  and  other  heavy 
missiles  which  were  to  be  used  from  the  alures,  while 
the  stone  floor  above  was  strong  enough  to  carry  any 
mediaeval  engine. 

And  not  only  on  the  keep,  but  on  the  external  por- 
tions of  each  of  the  angle-towers  on  the  south  side,  are 
the  corbels  still  remaining, — great  stone  blocks  about 
4^  feet  long  by  15  inches  deep,  and  the  like  across,  under 
holes  about  14  inches  square  going  through  the  para- 
pet between  each  slit;  and  on  each  tower  yet  exist  the 
stone  steps  by  which  these  alures  could  be  reached ; 
and  on  each  curtain  joining  the  south-west  angle  tower 
there  was  a  similar  construction.  The  Castle  with 
these  projecting  timbers,  evidently  of  considerable 
length,  must  have  looked  something  like  an  ironclad 
with  its  torpedo  spars  out.  There  are  sculptured  water- 
holes  quite  independent  of  these  spar-holes,  and  much 
below  their  level.  The  completeness  of  these  defences 
of  the  walls  may  account  for  the  unusual  absence  of 
slits  in  angle-towers  raking  the  facQS  of  the  wall. 


225 


JOHN    LLOYD'S    NOTE-BOOK,  1637-1651. 

BT   ALFASD   NBOBARD   PALMER. 

There  was  exhibited  at  the  recent  Meeting  of  the 
Cambrian  Archaeological  Association  at  Denbigh  a  book 
lent  by  Mrs.  Townshend  Mainwaring,  which  is  thus 
described  in  The  Catalogue  of  the  Temporary  Museum, 
Denbigh  Meeting : — '*  Record  of  the  Great  Sessions  for 
Denbigh  and  Flint,  1637-1651."  Mrs.  Townshend 
Mainwaring  has  been  good  enough  to  allow  me  to  ex- 
amine this  book,  which  turns  out  to  be,  not  the  official 
record  of  the  Great  Sessions,  but  rather  the  private 
memorandum-book  of  an  attorney  in  large  practice, 
who  constantly  attended  the  Great  Sessions  of  the  two 
counties,  and  had  to  "  appeare"  in  various  cases  there. 
The  question  now  arises,  Who  was  the  writer  of  the 
book  ?  On  one  of  the  first  pages  of  it  "  the  oath  of 
supremicie"  is  copied  out,  and  herein  the  name  of  the 
writer,  "  John  Lloyd",  is  plainly  given.  The  latter 
speaks  elsewhere  of  his  brother  David  Lloyd,  of  his 
sister  Alice  Lloyd,  of  his  brother  John  Lloyd  (in  which 
case  he  must  mean  his  hrothev-in-law)^  of  his  brother 
Thomas  Wynn,  and  of  his  cousins  Edward  Williams 
and  Robin  Pugh.  I  believe  the  writer  to  be  John 
Lloyd  of  Wickwer  (Wigfair),  attorney,  who  lived  at 
St.  Asaph,  and  appears  to  have  been  buried  there 
9  Jan.  165^.  He  was  a  son  of  Edward  Lloyd,  Proctor 
of  the  Consistory  Court  of  Chester.  He  had  a  brother, 
David  Lloyd,  and  a  sister,  Alice,  who  married  John 
Lloyd  of  Berth,  which  last  must  be  the  John  Lloyd 
whom  he  calls  his  "  brother".  When  he  speaks  of  his 
brother-in-law  John  Foulk,  he  must  mean  his  wife's 
brother-in-law,  John  Foulk  of  Vaenol ;  and  when  he 
speaks  of  his  brother  "  Tho.  Wyn",  he  must  also  mean 
his  wife's  brother-in-law  of  that  name,  who  appears  to 
have  been  Thomas  Wynn  of  Garthgarmon.    His  cousin 


226  JOHN  Lloyd's  note-book. 

Edward  Williams  was  "  the  atturney  and  famous  clerk" 
who  was  son  of  John  Williams  of  Carwedfvnydd,  Proc- 
tor of  St.  Asaph,  and  who  was  buried  at  Chester,  Janu- 
ary 7,  1641. 

The  book  has  paper  leaves,  and  is  bound  in  parch- 
ment. It  begins  April  17,  1637,  and  goes  on  to  April 
22,  1650;  but  there  is  a  gap  between  Jan.  22,  164-J 
and  March  20, 164|^,  the  time  of  the  civil  war.  Two  or 
three  times  at  the  top  of  the  page  occurs  the  name 
"Jesus",  put  there  as  a  sort  of  pious  invocation  when 
the  writer  begins  a  new  set  of  entries. 

The  regular  entries  are  in  abbreviated  Latin,  but 
there  are  often  additions  in  English.  Many  of  these 
are  very  interesting,  and  include  names  of  importance 
to  genealogists  and  students  of  local  history. 

The  book,  as  a  whole,  forms  a  valuable  supplement 
to  Peter  Roberts'  Cwtta  Cyfarwydd.  It  appears  from 
it  that  the  Great  Sessions  for  county  Denbigh  were 
sometimes  held  at  Llanrwst  as  well  as  at  Denbigh, 
Ruthyn,  and  Wrexham  ;  and  those  for  county  Flint  at 
Northop  and  Hawarden,  as  well  as  at  Flint  and  Mold. 

The  following  selected  entries  from  "  John  Lloyd's 
Note-Book"  may  be  interesting  to  readers  of  the  ArchxB- 
ologia  Cambrensis.  Such  notes  as  I  have  thought  neces- 
sary are  put  within  square  brackets :  "q"  stands  for 
plaintiff,  "d"  or  *'de"  for  defendant,  "  v'ss"  for  versus, 
"ad's"  for  ad  versus.  I  am  not  answerable  for  the 
Latinity. 


"  Sessio  Magna  Com.  fflint  tent'  apud  fflint  xvij  die 
Aprilis  an'o  R.  R.  Caroli  Anglie  etc.  xiij.  1637 
cora'  Johe'  Bridgeman  milit'  et  Ric'o  Prytherch 
ar'  Justic'  ib'm. 

"  Thomas  Mostyn  ar'  Vic'. 

"Rob't*s  Conway  q'  v'ss  Petru*  dryliurst  Joh'e  Conway  de 
bryny wall  et  Joh'em  Conway  de  kyrcgynan'  d^  in  debo  [i.e.,  de- 
bito]  lOli.  16s. 

"  p'  [i.e.,  pro]  code'  Joh'e  Pryce  def  ad  sect^  Joh'is  Thomas 
de  Caerwys  in  p^hibic'o'e  p'  sedili  loc'  in  eccria  de  Caerwys. 


If 

« 


JOHN  Lloyd's  note-book.  227 

"  Joh'es  Pryce  de  PwUgwyn  q'  v'ss  Radulphu'  Snead  et  Edru' 
Price  de^  in  deb'o  51i.  19s.  9d. 

"  p'  Thoma'  Hughes  de  Maesmorwyn  et  Joh'e  Hughes  de'  ad 
sect'  Wiirmi ap  John  in  deb'o  71i.  lis.  4d. 

"  Hugh  ap  Jo'n  of  trelewelyn  oweth  me  for  my  cosen  Eobin 
Pugh 

"  M'd  that  I  paid  to  Mr.  Spicer  the  under  sheriefif  yjs.  viijd. 
for  post-fyne  (due  from  Hugh  Salusbury  his  wief )  upon  Munday 
mominge  of  this  Sessions,  aboute  10  a  clock  neere  my  chamber 
Doore. 


*'  Sessio  Magna  Com'  Denbigh'  tent'  apud  Wrexham 
xxiiij*®  die  Aprilis  an'o  R.  R.  Caroli  nunc  Angliae 
etc.  xiij**  cora'  Joh'e  Brydgeman  milit'  et  Ric'o 
Prytherch  ar'  Justic'  ib'm. 

"  WUliam's  Wynne  ar'  Vic'. 

"  Elena  fFoulkes  vid'  executrix  testi  Joh'is  Evans  q*  v'ss  Ric'eu 
dauid  ap  Madoc  d'  in  deb'o  vjlL  viijs.  Jon  ffoulke  my  brother 
in  law  will  paie. 

"  Ryryd  ap  John  q'  v'ss  Dauid  Holland  def  in  pl'it'  deb'i  [i.e., 
placito  debiti]  iijli. 

•'  David  Uoyd  (frater  mens)  q'  v'ss  Eliseum  Wynne  def  in 
pFito  deb'i  xxlL 

"  Br.  de  Couveur  (p'  Comiss')  inter  Joh'e  Owen  Epis'  Assa- 
phen'  et  Elena  uxor  eius  q'  et  Eolandu'  Jones,  Jana  ux*  eius, 
Mauriciu'  Jones  et  Rich'u  Jones  filiu'  et  hered'  dicti  Mauricii 
de'  de  ter*  in  Gwrych  et  Ab'geleu. 

"  Thomas  Price  Wynne  ar'  et  Maria  Price  spinster  q'  v'ss 
Thoma'  Morris  et  Joh'em  Piers  de'  in  deb'o  xvjli.  q'  Maria  est 
infans. 

'*  p'  EoVto  Wynne  ar'  de  Berthddu  d'  ad  sect'  Ellicie  ap  Harry 
q'  in  p'hibic'o'e  p'  sede  sive  sedili  loco  in  eccl'ia  de  Uanroost. 

"  p'  Thoma'  Price  Wynne  ar'  ten'  ad  sect'  Gwenne  que  fuit 
uxoris  Cad'ri  ap  Humffrey  in  dote  de  ter'in  Price  et  tirEvan... 
. . .  le  demand  est  p'  2  mess'  2  toft  40  acr*  ter'  60  acr'  past'  et 
40  acr'  prat'  cu'  p'tn'  in  Price  [Trebrys]. 

"  Eob'tus  Price  de  Geelor  q'  v'ss  Joh'em  Cadd'r  de  Price  d'  in 
deb'o  47s. 

"  p'  Eich'o  Price  (gaoler)  et  Eob'to  ap  dd'  ap  Hugh  de'  ad 
sect'  Henrici  Salusbury  q'  in  deb'o  xxxvijs.  vjd. 


228  JOHN  Lloyd's  note-book. 


"  Sessio  Magna  Com'  fflint  tent'  apud  fflint  xvj°  die 
Octobris  an'o  R.  Re'  Caroli  nunc  Anglie  etc.  13** 
cora'  Joh'e  Bridgeman  milit'  et  Rich'o  Prytherch 
ar'  Justic'  ib'm. 

"  Thomas  Mostyn  Ar'  Vio'. 

"  Joh*es  Hughes  de  Ehydorthwy  q'  v'ss  Owinu'  Thomas  et 
Thomam  ap  John  Owen  def  in  debito  5ii.  13s.  4d. 

"  p*  Joh'e  Burton  d'  ad  sect*  Daniel  Thelwall  q'  in  deb*o  xxs." 
[?  John  Burton,  "  notary  publique,  and  one  of  the  Proctors  of 
St.  Assaph."     Buried  25  Aug.  1642.] 

"  p'  Joh'e  Edds  cl'ico  viccario  de  Combe  def  adv's  Willim' 
Benett  m^cer  q'  in  pFito  deb'i  vjli.  vs. 

"  p'  Edwardo  Huniffreys  de  bodelwythan  def  ad*s  Eich'i  Dry- 
hurst  q*  in  pPito  deVi  Ixxli. 


*'Sessio  Magna  Com'  Denbigh  tent'  apud  Ruthyn 
xxiij  die  Octobris  An'o  R.  R.  Caroli  Anglie  etc. 
xiij°  coram  Joh'e  Brydgeman  milite  et  Rich'o 
Prytherch  Ar'  Justic'  ib'm. 

"  Will'm's  Wynne  Ar'  Vic'. 

"  Thomas  ap  John  ap  Eees  de  vaenoll  q'  v*ss  Joh'e  ap  Eees 
Owen  def  in  deb'o  xli. 

"  Egomet  q'  Vss  Eich'um  Salusbury  et  flfulco'em  Salusbury  de' 
in  pl'ito  deb'i  iiijli. 

"  Joh'es  fiFoulkes  de  vaenoll  q'  v'ss  Thoma  lloyd  et  Thoma 
Hughes  de'  in  pl'ito  xxiijli.  iiijs. 

"  Joh'es  ap  Eob't  ap  Thomas  q'  v'ss  Joh'e  lloyd  de  Brynlly- 
arth  et  M'garet  Salusbury  de'  in  deb'o  xli. 


*'  Sessio  Magna  Com'  fflint  tent'  apud  fflint  xvj  die 
Aprilis  an'o  R.  Re'  Caroli  nunc  Anglie  etc.  xiiij" 
1638  cora'  Thoma'  Milv^ard  milite  et  Ric'o  Pryth- 
erch ar'  Justic'  ib'm. 

"  Thomas  Whitley  ar'  Vic'. 

"  p'  Humffro  Dymock  ar^  d'  ad's  Joh'is  Jones *q'  in  deb'o  xxxli. 
"  p'  Gruffino  Vaughan  de  Goldgreave  def  ad's  Thome  ap  Eobt' 
q'  ill  pl'ito  deb'i  57s. 


JOHN  Lloyd's  note-book.  229 

"  Jesus. 

"  Sessio  Magna  Com'  Denbigh  tent'  apud  Wrexham 
xxiij°  die  Aprilis  an'o  R.  Re'  Caroli  Anglie  etc. 
xiiij®  1638  coram  Thoma  Mil  ward  milite'  et  Rich'o 
Prytherch  ar'  milit'  Justic'  ib'm. 

"  Edward's  Morris  Ar'  Vie*. 

"  p'  Anna  Humffireys  vid'  exec'  testi  Thome  Humffreys  ar*  [of 
Bodelwyddan]  d'  ad  sect'  Rob'ti  ap  Eees  lewys  q*  in  deb'o  2001i. 


"  Jesus. 

"Sessio  Magna  Com'  fflint  tent'  apud  Ha  warden 
prime  die  Octobris  an'o  R.  Re'  Caroli  nunc  Anglie 
etc.  xiiij"*  cora'  Thoma'  Milward  Milite'  et  Rich'o 
Prytherch  ar'  Justic'  ib'm. 

•'  Thomas  Whitley  Ar*  Vic^ 

"  Bartholomeus  ap  Robt*  Gruffith  q'  v'ss  Jacobu'  Edgbury  et 
Willim'  Wynne  de'  in  deb'o  vli. 

**  p'  Eic'o  Thomas  de  Cwyber  def  ad*s  Willim'  Symon  q'  in 
deVo  91i.  16s.  8d.  as  s'rty  for  Jenkin  Conway. 

"p*  Dorothea  HumflTreys  spinster  d'  ad's  Georgii  Dymock  q' 
in  pl'ito  deb'i  231i.  5s. 

"  p'  Ed'ro  Morgan  ar'  [of  Goldgreave]  d'  ad's  Rici  ap  Wm. 
lewes  &  ux'q'  in  deb'o  121i.  2s.     Mr.  Robert  Morgan  will  pay. 


"  Jesus. 

"  Sessio  Magna  Com'  Denbigh  tent'  apud  Ruthyn 
viij°  die  Octobr'  an'o  R.  Re'  Caroli  Anglie  etc. 
xiiij*^  cora'  Thoma'  Milward  Milit'  et  Rich'o 
Prytherch  ar'  Justic'  ib'm. 

"  Ed'us  Morris  Ar'  Vic'. 

"  Frater  Dauid  lloyd  q'  v'ss  Petru'  Moyle  def  in  pl'ito  deb'i 
xxviijli. 

"  Rob's  Owen  ch'cs  q'  v'ss  Thomas  WilUams  et  Will'mu'  Wil- 
liams de*  in  pPito  deb'i  ixli.  vjs.  vjd. 

"  Petrus  Myddelton  q'^v'ss  Theodorum  Morris  deP  in  pl'ito 
deb'i  xxli.  Mr.  Deanes  [the  Dean  of  St.  Asaph's]  debt  whoe 
deUu'ed  me  the  bonds  &  p'mised  payment. 

"  p'  Pierseo  lloyd  de  dackers-wood  d'  ad's  Thoma  Myddelton 
militi  in  deb'o  ccli.  ¥A  p'  Petro  Lloyd  d'  ad's  eiusd'  q'  in  simili 
pl'it.     He  deliu'ed  me  his  Ring  till  I  shold  be  paid. 


230  JOHN  Lloyd's  note-book. 

**  Sessio  Magna  Com'  fflint  tent'  apud  fflint  xxix**  die 
Aprilis  A'no  R.  Re'  Caroli  nunc  Anglie  etc.  xv° 
cora'  Thome'  Mil  ward  Milite  et  Rich'o  Prytherch 
Ar'  Justic'  ib'm. 

"  p'  Evano  Eoberts  def  ad's  d^ne  Elene  Mutton  vid'  Eob'ti 
dd's  ar'  et  Anne  uxor  eius  execut'r  testi  Petri  Mutton  milit'  in 
prit  deVi. 

Gracea  Dauies  spinster  q*  v'ss  Eob'tu'  Humffreys  [of  Bodel- 
wyddan]  gen'  execut'r  testi  Anne  Humffreys  vid^  in  pl'ito  deb'i 
801i.  et  Vss  Pierceu  Uoyd  def  in  simili  pl'it'  j'  mort'  est, 

"  p'  Jobe'  Price  de  trevedwin  Thome  Price  et  Rob^to  Price  de 
ad's  Thome  ap  Evan  Piers  q'  in  deb'i  xli.  xvjs. 

"  Joh'es  Owen  q'  v'ss  Eob'tum  Uoyd  de  leeswood  def  in  pfito 
deb'i  Ixiiijli. 

*'  Sessio  Magna  Com'  Denbigh  tent'  apud  Denbigh 
vj*^  die  Maij  An'o  R.  Re'  Caroli  Anglie  etc.  xv 
Coram  Thoma  Milward  Milite  et  Ric'o  Prytherch 
ar'  Just'  ib'm. 

"  Thomas  Powell  Barronet  Vic*. 

"  Pierseus  Conway  ar'  q'  Vss  Rich'u'  Heaton  d'  in  pl'ito  deb'i 
liiijli. 

"At  v^ss  Hugo'em  Peake  def  in  simili  pFito. 

"  Dauid  Anwyll  q'  v'ss  Owinum  Vaughan  cl'icu'  [Rector  of 
Gwytherin]  Will'mu*  Vaughan  (fiF  et  hered'  d'ci  Owini)  et 
Richardu'  Wynne  de  in  deb'o  xiiijli. 

"p'  Andrea  Morris  Decano  Eccl'ie  C'th'lis  Asaphen'  ten'  a^'s 
Elizabethe  que  fuit  uxor  Henrici  ffoulke  pet*  in  pl'ito  dotis  p' 
tent'  in  llewene.  Leonard  Powell  [of  Meriadog]  bad  me  ap*re 
&  p'mised  payme'  &  Mr.  Deanes  man  Peter  Myddelton  did  the 
like  from  his  master. 


**  Sessio  Magna  Com'  flBiint  tent'  apud  fflint  xiiij*^  die 
Octobris  an'o  R.  Re'  Caroli  Anglie  etc.  xv**1639 
coram  Thoma'  Mylward  Milit'  et  Ric'o  Prytherch 
ar'  Justic'  ib'm. 

"  Joh'es  Eyton  Ar'  Vic'. 

"Samuel  Partridge  et  ffrancisca ux'eius  q'e  v'ss  Evanu'  Roberts 
de  in  debito  51i.  8s.  The  pl'ts  wief  is  daughter  to  Hugh  ap  Evan 
of  the  wayn  whose  wief  deliuered  me  the  bonds  and  the  5s. 


JOHN  Lloyd's  note-book.  231 

"  Sessio  Magna  Com'  Denbigh  tent'  apud  Ruthyn  • 
xxj  die  Octobris  An'o  R.  Re'  Caroli  Anglie  etc. 
xv^°  1639  cora'  Tho.  Milward  mil'  et  Ric'o  Pryth- 
erch  ar  Justic'  ib'm. 

"  Tho'  Poweir  Ar'  Vic'. 

"  p'  Andrea  Kynaston  de  Bodlith'  d'  ad's  Thome  lloyd  q'  in 
deb'o  51i. 

"  p'  eod*  def  ad's  Gervys  cl'ic'  vie'  Llansilyn  in  scir'  fac'. 

"  p'  danid  ap  Evan  de  Beraigne  de'  ad's  Joh'i  ap  John  ap  Wm. 
q'  in  deb'i  51l  8s. 

"  Sessio  Magna  Com'  fflint  tent'  apud  fflint  xx  die 
Aprilis  An'o  R.  Re'  Caroli  nunc  Anglie  etc.  xvj^ 
1640  cora'  Thoma  Milward  Milite  et  Ric'o  Pryth- 
erch  ar'  Justic'  ib'm. 

"  Rad'us  Hughes  Ar'  Vic'. 

"  Henricus  Parry  de  Pengwern  q'  v'ss  Rob^tu'  ffoulk  et  Tho- 
mam  Humffreys  de'  in  pl'ito  deb'i  41i.  9s.  9d. 

"  fiFulco  Eutter  gen'  q'  v'ss  Thomam  Salusbury  ar'  def  in  pl'ito 
deb'i  xxxli. 

"  Sessio  Magna  Com*  Denbigh  tent'  apud  Ruthyn 
xxvij  die  Aprilis  an'o  R.  Re'  Caroli  nunc  Anglie 
etc.  xvj**  1640  cora'  Thoma'  Milv^ard  milite  et 
Ric'o  Prytherch  ar'  Justic'  ib'm. 

"  Eich'us  Langford  Ar'  Vic'. 

'*  Rec'  of  Mr.  Robt.  Wyn  of  Berthddu  3s.  towards  my  dis- 
bursements of  the  last  Sess'  &  this. 

"  Evanus  ap  Jo'n  ap  Robt.  et  Dorothea  uxor  eius  executrici 
testi  Edri  GruflSth  def ti  q's  v'ss  Joh'em  lloyd  de  gwernyt  d'  in 
pl'it  deb'i  xxviijli. 

**  Et  v'ss  Joh'em  lloyd  de  brynllyarth  def  in  simili  deb'o. 

**  Petrus  Thomas  ap  Evan  et  Katherine  vch'  Thomas  ap  Evan 
q's  v'ss  dauid  ffoulke  de  Meriadock  def  in  sc'  fac'  p'  iudicio  re- 
cupat'  Sess'  Aprilis  14®  Car'  v'ss  Henricu'  Jo'n  Thomas  defuncti, 

"  p'Petro  lloyd  juniori  de  Backers  Wood  d'ad's  Joh'is  Vaughan 
q'  in  deb'o  xijli. 

"  p'  Thoma'  Price  de  wickwer  def  ad's  Margarete  Humffreys 
spinster  q'  in  pVito  deb'i  71i.  9s.  2d. 

"  p'  Joh'e  Gruffith  de  Abergeley  d'  ad's  Thome'  Tropp  et  Will'm 


232  JOHN  Lloyd's  note-book. 

Gamwell  q's  in  pFito  deVi  lOOOli.  [The  jury  ultimately  awarded 
£150.] 

"  p*  eod'  Joh^e  d'  ad's  Joh'is  Edwards  de  Civitate  Cest*  cloth- 
worker  q'  in  pl'ito  trans'  sup'  cas*  ad  dam'  ip'ius  q'  xxli. 

"  p'  Thoma' Wynne  gen'de  Garthgarmon  [probably  the  writer's 
brother-in-law]  d'  ad's  Piersei  Thomas  q'  in  pl'ito  tr'ns  ad  dam' 
ip'ius  q'  40s. 

**  Sessio  Magna  Com*  fflint  tent'  apud  fflint  xxj**  die 

Septembris  an'o  R.  Re'  Caroli  Anglie  etc.  xvj*** 

cora'  Thoma'  Infilward   mil'  et  Ric'o  Prytherch 

Justic'  ib'm. 

"  Rad'us  Hughes  Ar'  Vic'. 

"  ffulco  Rutter  q'  v'ss  Thoma'  Salusbury  def '  in  pl'ito  deb'i 
xxxli. 

"  Dauid  Uoyd  (fr'er  mens)  q'  v'ss  Petru'  Wyn  humffrid  Dy- 
mock  Petru'  GruflP  et  Petru'  GruflP  d'  in  deb'o. 

"  paid  5s.  to  Consell  in  Alice  v'ch  Rob'ts  matter.  Her  son 
deliu'ed  me  ivs.  and  ijs.  whereof  I  paid  Jo'n  Tanat  for  old  score 
7s.  9d.  for  attorneys  fees  at  this  tyme  2s. 

"  p'  Joh'e  Conway  de  St  Asaph  et  aliis  de  ad's  Anne  Jones 
vid'  in  pl'ito  deb'i  2U.  16s. 


"Sessio  IVIagna  Com'  Denbigh  tent'  apud  Ruthyn 
xxviij**  die  Septembris  An'o  R.  Re'  Caroli  Anglie 
*  etc.   xvj*°  cora'  Thoma'  Mil  ward   milit'  et  Ric'o 
Prytherch  ar'  Justic'  ib'm. 

"  Eich'us  Langford  Ar'  Vic'. 

"  Egomet  (executor  testi  Joh'is  Uoyd  [the  writer's  brother-in- 
law]  q'  v'ss  eld.  Holland  def  in  pl'ito  deb'i  vli.  viijs. 


"  Sessio  Magna  Com!  fflint  tent'  apud  fflint  x°  die 
Maij  an'o  R.  Re'  Anglie  etc.  decimo  septimo  cora' 
Thoma'  Millward  milite  et  Richardo  Prythergh 
ar'  Justic'  ib'm. 

"  Joh'es  Jones  ar'  vie'. 

"  Pro  Thoma'  Will'ms  gen'  et  Th.  W'ms  def  ad's  Joh'es  Jones 
gen'  q'  in  pl'it'  tr'ns  insult'  et  maym'  ad  dam'.  Non  cul  entred  by 
the  spec'  war'  of  the  de &  advise  of  Mr.  Eic.  Uoyd  [after- 
wards Sir  Richd.  Lloyd  of  Rsclus].  I  paid  to  Mr.  Peeter  Morris 
a  fee  of  ijs.  &  2s.  to  Mr.  Jo'n  Uoyd  Uanbedr. 


JOHN  Lloyd's  note-book.  233 

*' Joh'es  Owen  d'ns  ep*us  Asaphen'  q*  v'ss  Willimu'  Myddel- 
ton  et  Willimu'  Myddelton  d'  in  deb'o  xxli. 

"  Dorothea  vch'  Thomas  vid'  q'  v'ss  Thoma'  ap  John  Owen  d' 
in  prito  deb'i  xixli.  vs.  Et  v*ss  Owinu*  Thomas  filiu'  et  hered* 
d'ci  Thome  def  in  simili  pl'ito.  Edd.  Jones  my  lords  [the 
Bishop's]  steward  undertooke  to  pay  me  all  disbursem'ts  &  de- 
liu'ed  me  the  bond. 

"  p'  eode'  Rob'to  [Morgan  of  Goldgreave]  d'  ad's  Rob'ti  Pen- 
nant q'  in  pl'ito  deb'i  xxli.  Wm.  Morgan  was  also  in  the  Writt 
but  Mr.  Wyn  essoined  (?)  for  him. 

"  p'  Thoma'  ap  Harry  de  Brynywall  in  p'ochia  de  Eidlan. 

"  Thomas  Williams  de  Uysmaesmynan  q'  v'ss  Joh'em  Jones 
junior  def  in  pl'it  tr'ns*  et  insult'  ad  dam*  cli. 

"  Hugo  Thomas  administrator  etc.  Edri  Parry  q*  v'ss  Joh'em 
Edwards  cFicu'  [probably  Vicar  of  Ysceifiog,  recently  one  of  the 
vicars  choral  of  St.  Asaph,  son  of  Edward  ap  John  ap  Edward 
of  Cilcen]  et  luciam  uxor  eius  in  pPlit'  deVi  Ixli. 

"  p'  Rob'to  Morgan  ar*  [of  Goldgreave]  d'  ads'  Henrici  Mos- 
tyn  et  Katherine  ux'  eius  q's  431i.  4s. 


**  Sessio  Magna  Com'  Denbigh  tent'  apud  Denbigh 

xvij°  die  Maij  an'o  R.  Re'  Caroli  Anglie  etc.  xvij° 

1641   Cora'  Thoma'  Milward   milite'   et  Rich'o 

Prytherch  Justic'  ib'm. 

"  Johe's  Vaughan  Ar'  Vic'. 

"  p'  Willi'mo  ap  hugh  dd.  ap  owen  q'  Vss  dd.  piers  d'  in  bre' 
de  errore  p'  recupat'  in  cur'  de  domin'  de  Den[bigh]  et  Denbigh- 
land. 

[Appearance  for  Edward,  Maria,  and  Anna,  the  three  father- 
less children  of  Wm.  Parry,  late  of  Lleweni,  against  Hugh  Peake 
and  Richard  Heaton.] 

"  p'  Ric'do  Giniffith  de  Uewenie  ad's  WilFmi  Thomas  q'  in 
pl'ito. 

'*  Robt's  Dailies  de  Kaerhyn  adm'str'  etc.  Graceae  dd's  q'  v'ss 
Joh'em  Hughes  def  in  pPito  deb'i  xijli. 

"  p'  Willi'mo  ap  Wm.  ap  Richard  de  Carrog  def  ad's  Rob'ti 
Price  q'  in  pPito  tr'ns  ad  dam'  q'  51i.  I  app'ed  upon  the  distrin- 
gas on  Saturday  morning  to  saue  the  issues  of  the  deft  the  deft 
being  a  strang'r  to  me  at  Edd.  W'ms  allegac'on  that  the  deft 
wold  both  pay  &  thank  me.     noe  declar'  then  in. 

"  p'  Rob'to  Uoyd  de  bryngwylan  def  ad's  eiusd'  Rob'ti  Price 
q'  in  pf  ito  tr'ns  ad  dam'  51i. 


234  JOHN  Lloyd's  note-book. 

"  Sessio  Magna  Com'  fflint  tent'  apud  fflint  xxvij^  die 

Septembr'  an'o  R.  Re'  Caroli  Anglie  etc.  xvij** 

1641   cora'   Thoma'   Mil  ward   milite    et   Rich'o 

Prytherch  ar'  Justic'  ib'm. 

"  Joh^es  Jones  ar*  vie*. 

"  p*  Hugone  Thomas  de  Mayneva  d'  ad's  Joh*is  Thomas  q'  in 
pVito  deb'i  xxjli.  xijs. 

"  p*  Katherina  Salusbury  vid'  Thoma  Price  Thoma  ap  Robt* 
et  Gwenna  ux'  eius  de  ad*s  Joh'is  lloyd  lessee  al'  hugoni  hughes 
in  pVit'  tr'ns  et  eiecc  firm'  p'  uno  mess'  30  acr*  terr*  et  30  acr* 
past'  cu^  p'tin'  in  Hur[aethog].  Roger  W'ms  of  Combe  [Plas  yn 
Ngwm]  will  pay. 

"  p'  Hugo'e  Thomas  de  Mayneva  d*  etc. 

"  Will'ms  Gruffith  legu'  d'cor'  [Chancellor  of  St.  Asaph  and 
Bangor]  q'  v^ss  Thoma  Price  def  in  deb'o  vli. 

"  Henricns  Gregor  q'  Vss  Eobt'  yale  et  Thoma'  Ed'ds  de  in 
deb'o  xiiijli 

'*  p'  Johe'  Powell  d'  ad's  Henrici  Mostyn  et  Katherine  uxoris 
eius  q'  in  pli'to  deb'i  xvjli.  viijs. 

'*  Thomas  Hanmer  Barronett  et  Georgius  Eavenscroft  gen'  q' 
v'ss  Thoma'  Salusbury  ar*  def  in  pl'ito  deb'i  xxijli.  Mr.  Eavens- 
croft p'mised  paym't  &  gave  me  direccons  to  sue. 

"  M'd  to  reteigne  Mr.  Jo.  Wyn  &  Mr.  Attorney  to  draw  a  bill 
of  Judi'  ag't  Jo'n  lloyd  of  denbigh  m'cer  for  keeping  of  false 
weights  &  measures." 

(7b  be  continued,) 


235 


HOW  CHURCHES  WERE  BUILT  IN  THE 
EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY. 


BT  THE    REV.   ELIAS  OWEN. 


Fkom  entries  made  in  churchwardens'  accounts  it  would 
seem  that  many  churches  were  in  a  dilapidated  condi- 
tion in  the  last  century.  Most  of  these  were,  time 
after  time,  patched,  and  thus  made  tenantable.  The 
roofs  of  churches  in  particular  suflfered  from  the  storms 
of  autumn  and  the  winds  of  spring,  and  hundreds  of 
"  shingles''  were  in  requisition  at  those  seasons  to  re- 
pair the  shattered  church  roofs ;  and  entries  abound  in 
the  parish  accounts  of  money  paid  for  these  shingles 
to  replace  those  dislodged  by  the  wind.  Masons'  bills 
we  see  often  paid,  and  masons  and  their  labourers 
appear  on  the  books  as  the  recipients  of  beer  given  to 
them,  when  in  the  employment  of  the  churchwardens, 
as  church  restorers ;  in  fact,  money  paid  for  church 
repairs  amounted  annually  to  large  sums  ;  and  we  see 
it  invariably  stated  in  vestry  resolutions,  that  the 
church  rate  was  levied  for  repairing  the  church  and  for 
other  parochial  purposes.  The  "repairing  of  the  church** 
was  usually,  it  may  be  said,  inserted  m  these  vestry 
resolutions  bearing  upon  rates,  in  conformity  with 
ancient  usage,  but  still  such  words  imply  that  churches 
often  needed  restoration. 

Extracts  in  proof  of  the  correctness  of  the  foregoing 
remarks  are  hardly  necessary,  but  I  will  give  a  few : 
thus  in  Derwen  parish  book,  in  1695,  is  the  following 
entry :  "  For  nogging  y*  spars  and  timber  for  y*  nogg 
00.06.00";  and  again,  in  the  same  book,  in  1714,  "  For 
2  thousand  of  slates  two  pound".  In  Eglwys  Fach 
accounts  is  the  following  entry  under  the  year  1717: 
'*  For  drink  to  the  masons  and  slaters  0.01.00". 

The  parish  churches  existing  in  the  last  century,  for 

5Tn   8RR.,  YOL.  V.  17 


236  HOW  CHURCHES  WERE  BUILT 

the  most  part  dated  from  an  early  period  ;  and  as 
many  of  them  were  more  than  three  centuries  old,  it  is 
not  strange  that  they  then  required  repairs.  The 
various  improvements  in  the  internal  arrangements  of 
the  church,  as  the  erection  of  galleries,  the  painting  of 
letters  on  the  walls,  and  many  such  like  questionable 
alterations,  were  duly  recorded  on  the  walls  of  the 
church  as  the  work  of  certain  thereon  named  church- 
Wardens.  Fortunately  it  was  but  seldom  indeed,  in 
the  eighteenth  century,  that  one  of  these  venerable 
buildings  was  displaced  to  make  room  for  another.  The 
parishioners  objected  to  radical  changes  in  their  parish 
church,  and  felt  affectionately  towards  the  very  stones 
of  the  edifice  wherein  they  and  their  forefathers  had 
worshipped.  I  have,  however,  found  one  instance  of 
the  erection  of  a  new  building  in  the  place  of  an  old 
church,  and  the  various  steps  taken  by  the  parishioners 
to  secure  this  object  form  a  series  of  resolutions  passed 
in  vestry  ;  and  as  these  are  really  interesting,  as  indi- 
cating the  manner  in  which  churches  were  erected  in 
the -last  century,  I  will  give  the  various  resolutions  as 
I  find  them  written  in  the  Vestry  Book  of  Eglwys  Fach, 
a  parish  in  West  Denbighshire. 

It  would  appear  from  the  churchwardens'  accounts 
of  this  parish  that  this  church  had  suffered  much  from 
the  elements  in  the  course  of  ages,  and  therefore  it 
was  proposed  that  it  should  be  eitner  thoroughly  reno- 
vated, or  a  new  church  built.  The  first  intimation  of 
this  resolve  appears  in  the  following  entry  : — 

"Dec.  21,  1765.  The  majority  of  the  Parishioners  then 
assembled  have  come  to  an  agreement  to  employ  a  Proper  Per- 
son to  make  a  thorough  survey  of  the  church,  in  order  to  be  pro- 
perly informed  of  the  true  state  of  the  structure  thereof,  by 
which  means  they  may  more  easily  resolve  upon  the  fittest 
method  to  proceed  in  towards  the  repairs  or  an  erection  of  a  new 
one ;  and  It  is  ordered  that  the  churchwardens  procure  two 
knowing  and  able  architects  to  survey  the  same  with  the  utmost 
speed  possible. 

"  Eichard  Langford,  Vicar.*' 
(Three  churchwardens'  names  follow,  and 
twenty-one  parishioners.) 


IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.         237 

From  the  entries  that  follow  the  above,  it  would 
seem  that  the  architect  employed  had  recommended 
the  erection  of  a  new  church,  and  steps  were  subse- 
quently taken  to  obtain  funds  by  means  of  briefs,  sub- 
scriptions, and  church  collections,  wherewith  to  erect  a 
new  church  ;  but  the  work  proceeded  only  slowly,  for 
it  was  not  before  1777  that  active  local  endeavours 
were  made  to  obtain  contributions  towards  its  erec- 
tion. However,  in  the  interval  between  1765  and  1769 
it  appears  that  some  difficulty  had  been  experienced  in 
obtaining  possession  of  money  collected  during  those 
years  by  brief,  and  at  a  vestry  held  in  1769  this  matter 
forms  the  subject  of  a  resolution.    It  is  as  follows  : — 

"Eglwysfach  Church,  26th  Nov'ber  1769. 

"  At  a  vestry  there  and  then  assembled  it  was  ordered  that 
Messrs.  Byrd  and  Stevenson  of  Staflford  sh'd  be  applied  to  on 
acc't  of  y*  money  collected  upon  the  brief  for  y®  rebuilding  of 
y®  church  of  Eglwysfach  aforesaid,  and  y*  the  Revd.  Richard 
Langford,  Cl'r,  Vicar  of  Eglwysfach  afores'd,  sh'd  be  requested 
to  write  to  them  accordingly. 

"  Richd.  Langford,  VicY', 
and  nine  other  names. 

No  other  entry  which  has  reference  to  the  contem- 
plated new  church  appears  in  the  Vestry  Book  until 
we  reach  the  year  1777.  Possibly  the  work  was  in 
abeyance  during  the  interval  between  1769  and  1777. 
With  reference  to  the  brief  mentioned  in  the  foregoing 
resolution,  it  may  be  seen  from  a  resolution  dated  30th 
October  1786,  that  £70  was  obtained  by  brief;  but 
there  are  no  entries  throwing  light  upon  the  action  of 
Messrs.  Byrd  and  Stevenson,  the  Stafford  solicitors,  in 
connection  with  the  brief  referred  to  in  the  minute  of 
Nov.  26th,  1769. 

The  next  entry  shows  that  the  formation  of  a  work- 
able committee  was  decided  upon  for  the  purpose  of 
superintending  and  managing  the  erection  of  the  new 
church.     It  is  as  follows  : — 

"At  a  vestry  held  in  the  parish  church  of  Eglwysfach  on  Wed- 

17 « 


238  HOW  CHURCHES  WERE  BUILT 

nesday  the  twenty-sixth  day  of  November  1777,  by  the  parish- 
ioners of  the  said  parish,  and  then  prorogued  to  Wednesday  the 
third  of  December,  it  was  ordered  by  the  said  parishioners  that 
a  committee  be  appointed  of  five  committee  men,  beside  the 
Vicar  and  churchwardens  of  the  said  parish  for  the  time  being, 
to  agree  with  the  undertaker  or  undertakers  to  Build  a  new 
church,  and  to  order  everything  relating  thereto, — We,  the  said 
parishioners,  do  name  and  appoint  Thos.  Kyf&n,  £sq.,of  Maenan, 
the  Rev.  Edward  Edwards,  Cler.,  John  Humphreys,  Esq.,  of 
Garthwrwch,  Hugh  Lloyd  of  Tymawr,  Esq.,  Mr.  Hugh  Hol- 
land of  Pen  y  Brjm,  to  be  the  said  committee,  and  we  beg  the 
favour  of  the  said  gentlemen  to  act  as  such. 

"  Richd.  Langford,  Vicar", 
three  churchwardens'  and  other  names. 

At  the  same  vestry  a  person  is  appointed  to  canvass 
the  landowners  for  subscriptions,  and  this  person  is  to 
be  remunerated  for  his  labours.  In  those  days  of  no 
penny  posts  nor  railways  this  would  be  a  reasonable 
contract,  for  the  man  who  travelled  the  country  would 
be  put  to  expense  and  loss  of  time.  In  our  days  cir- 
culars begging  for  pence,  sent  through  the  post,  do  the 
work  of  the  man  engaged  by  the  vestry  of  Eglwysfach 
in  1777.  But  to  give  the  minute  itself,  for  it  tells  its 
own  tale  : — 

"  At  the  said  vestry  it  was  ordered  that  John  Lewis  of  the 
said  parish  should  go  about  to  the  several  land  proprietors  of 
the  said  parish,  who  reside  not  in  it,  with  the  representation  of 
the  resident  parishioners  relating  to  the  rebuilding  of  the  church 
of  Eglwys  Each,  and  a  copy  of  this  order  of  vestry,  and  that  he 
should  be  allowed  four  guineas  and  a  half  for  his  trouble." 

This  entry,  however,  is  crossed  out  in  the  Vestry 
Book,  and  another  entry  made  in  a  different  hand,  as 
follows  :  "August  3rd,  1792,  p'd  the  above  in  fuU/' 

There  evidently  was  a  scarcity  of  funds  from  the  very 
commencement  of  the  undertaking  to  build  a  new 
church,  and  apparently  the  work  was  commenced  with- 
out a  sufficient  sum  in  hand  to  justify  the  action  of  the 
committee.     This  appears  from  the  following  entry : — 

"At  a  vestry  held  on  the  26th  day  of  Novr.  1780,  at  the  dwell- 
inghouse  of  John  Lewis  of  Eglwysfach,  it  was  ordered  by  the 


IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  239 

parishioners  there  assembled  that  one  hundred,  or  one  Hundred 
and  Fifty  if  Necessary,  be  borrowed  upon  the  security  of  the 
parish  of  Eglwysfach  aforesaid,  towards  compleating  the  church 
of  the  said  parish,  now  rebuilding,  the  Interest  to  be  paid  half 
yearly.    Witness  our  hands. 

"  Richard  Langford,  Vicar 

David  Jones  I  churchwardens 
Owen  Evans  j 

Hugh  Lloyd 

Owen  Owens 

Hugh  Kyffin 

Eobert  Roberts 

Thos.  Jones." 

This  vestry  was  held  in  the  house  of  John  Lewis,  and 
not  in  the  church,  where  the  previous  vestries  were 
held,  and  where  it  was  customary  to  hold  vestries. 
This  shows  that  operations  had  commenced,  and  that 
the  old  church  had  been  taken  down.  The  above  men- 
tioned loan  is  the  first  of  a  series  obtained  on  the  credit 
of  the  parish.  At  this  vestry  it  was  also  ordered  that 
•*  the  old  yew-trees  be  taken  down  because  they  darken 
the  churcn". 

Presumedly  the  loan  above  mentioned  was  not  suffi- 
cient to  carry  on  the  work,  and  another  person,  for 
some  reason  or  other,  was  appointed  in  the  place  of 
John  Lewis  to  solicit  subscriptions  from  the  land- 
owners, to  resume  the  work,  which  was  at  a  standstill, 
for  the  workmen  had  struck  and  quitted  the  work 
because  they  were  not  paid  their  wages.  The  resolu- 
tion is  worded  thus  : — 

"  Eglwys  Fach,  Febry.  4th,  1781. 

"  At  a  vestry  held  at  the  dwellinghouse  of  John  Lewis,  and 
there  assembled,  by  the  parishioners  then  present,  it  was  or- 
dered that  David  Jones,  one  of  the  Church  Wardens  of  the  said 
parish,  shaU  go  and  wait  on  the  several  Landowners  of  the  said 
parish  to  solicit  and  receive  their  several  subscriptions  towards 
rebuilding  the  church  of  Eglwys  Fach  aforesaid,  as  the  work- 
men employed  in  the  said  building  have  quitted  their  business 
for  want  of  payment  of  their  wages. 

"  Richard  Langford,  VicV, 
three  churchwardens,  and  nine  others. 


240  HOW  CHURCHES  WERE  BUILT 

It  cannot  be  inferred  from  the  parish  records  how  long 
the  strike  continued,  but  it  must  have  lasted  some 
time,  for  the  church  was  not  completed  for  several  years 
after  the  passing  of  the  preceding  minute. 

By  a  resolution  passed  in  vestry,  April  10th,  1782, 
"  a  church  mize  of  2^.  in  the  pound  is  made  towards 
erecting  a  new  gate  on  the  churchyard-wall,  and  re- 
pairing the  wall  of  the  churchyard. 

The  next  entry  shows  that  still  further  difficulties 
stood  in  the  way  of  the  building  of  the  church,  and  the 
entry  also  shows  that  its  erection  proceeded  through 
several  years.  The  liberality  of  the  parishioners  also 
was  severely  tried  during  those  years,  and  the  drain 
upon  their  resources  was  evidently  a  matter  for  serious 
consideration.  The  adjournment  of  the  vestry  of  16th 
May  1785  to  June  13th  of  the  same  year  indicates 
the  presence  of  impediments.  By  this  date  a  change 
of  vicars  had  taken  place,  and  the  Rev.  T.  Hughes  had 
succeeded  the  Rev.  Richard  Langford.  The  church 
also,  apparently,  had  now  been  finished,  but  not  paid 
for ;  so  that  the  church  had  been  about  eight  years  in 
building,  a  very  long  period,  and  a  heavy  debt  was  on 
the  church.     The  minute  is  as  follows  : — 

^'  At  a  vestry  held  in  the  parish  church  of  Eglwys  Fach,  on 
Monday  the  16th  day  of  May  1785,  it  was  ordered  by  the  parish- 
ioners then  assembled  that  one  hundred  pound  should  be  bor- 
rowed upon  the  security  of  the  parish  of  Eglwys  Fach  aforesaid, 
towards  paying  for  rebuilding  the  church  thereof. 

«  T.  Hughes,  Vicar", 
and  fourteen  other  persons. 

^'Memorandum,  this  vestry  is  adjourned  until  the  13th  of 
June  next. 

"  T.  Hughes,  Vicar**,  and  others. 

It  will  be  observed  that  this  vestry  is  held  in  the 
church,  and  not  in  a  private  house, — a  proof  that  the 
church  was  now  rebuilt. 

From  the  next  entry  it  is  to  be  inferred  that  the  new 
church  covered  more  ground  than  the  old  one,  or,  in 
other  words,  that  it  was  a  larger  church  than  that  which 


IN  THE  EIQHTEENTH  CENTURY.        241 

it  had  supplanted;  and  further,  it  would  appear  that 
steps  had  been  taken  to  sell  the  new  part  of  the  church 
80  as  to  get  money  to  pay  the  liabilities  incurred  in  the 
erection  of  the  church.    The  following  is  the  entry : — 

"At  a  vestry  held  in  the  parish  church  of  Eglwys  Fach,  on 
Monday  the  13th  of  June  1785,  by  the  parishioners  then  and 
there  assembled,  it  was  ordered  that  a  Quorum  Interest  be  taken 
to  give  title  to  the  proprietors  of  the  new  ground  in  the  said 
church. 

"  T.  Hughes,  VicY', 
and  three  churchwardens. 

We  now  arrive  at  a  new  phase  in  this  prolonged 
undertaking.  One  could  have  wished  that  the  Vicar, 
churchwardens,  working  committee,  contractor,  work- 
men, and  all  connected  with  the  erection  of  the  church, 
would  have  brought  their  connection  to  an  end  in  an 
amicable  manner,  and  have  spent  an  evening, on  the  com- 
pletion of  their  labours  as  fellow-workmen,  in  partaking 
of  a  dinner  together,  and  that  in  their  speeches  they 
would  have  congratulated  each  other  on  the  successful 
termination  of  their  protracted  and  harassing  enter- 
prise ;  but  instead  of  such  a  pleasing  conclusion  we 
have  litigation  between  the  builder  of  the  church  and 
the  parishioners,  and  in  a  large  vestry  the  parishioners 
pass  a  resolution  to  the  effect  that  they  are  determined 
to  defend  their  case.  The  vestry  minute  bearing  on 
this  matter  is  as  follows  : — 

"At  a  vestry  meeting  held  at  Eglwys  Fach,  on  Monday  the 
13th  of  March  1786,  it  was  ordered  by  the  parishioners  then 
and  there  assembled  to  defend  a  cause  brought  against  the  said 
parishioners  by  Hugh  Williams  for  Building  the  Church  of 
Eglwys  Fach  aforesaid,  and  that  witnesses  do  attend  wherever 
the  said  cause  shall  be  tried ;  and  they,  the  said  parishioners, 
will  be  answerable  for  every  expence  attending  the  said  trial." 

Signed  by  three  churchwardens,  four  overseers, 
and  nineteen  other  persons. 

The  lawsuit  was,  it  would  seem,  gained  by  the  con- 
tractor, and  the  costs  of  the  trial  fell  upon  the  parish- 
ioners, as  is  shown  by  a  minute  of  30th  October  1786. 


242  HOW  CHURCHES  WERE  BUILT 

This  minute  is  interesting  as  indicating  the  various 
sources  from  which  money  had  been  obtained^  and  also 
because  it  informs  us  that  the  parishioners  had  now  de- 
termined, with  the  consent  of  the  proper  authorities  in 
the  diocese,  to  sell  the  space  gained  by  the  enlargement 
of  the  church,  for  sittings,  and  to  expend  the  money 
thus  obtained  towards  liquidating  the  debt  still  re- 
maining on  the  church.     The  resolution  is  as  follows  : 

«  30th  October  1786. 

"  At  a  vestry  held  this  day  at  the  parish  of  Eglwys  Fach,  in 
the  county  of  Denbigh,  to  take  into  consideration  the  necessary 
steps  to  be  pursued  for  the  discharging  the  debt  incurred  by  the 
rebuilding  of  the  parish  church  there,  and  it  appears  that  a"  debt 
of  £650  was  incurred  in  the  rebuilding  of  the  said  church,  and 
that  the  sum  of  £70  was  collected  by  a  Brief  obtained  for  that 
purpose,  and  that  by  voluntary  contributions  and  a  Tax  other 
monies  had  been  collected  and  applied  in  discharge  of  the  con- 
tractor's demand,  but  that  there  still  remains  due  to  the  con- 
tractor £183,  besides  the  costs  of  a  suit  brought  by  him  ag't  the 
Inhabitants  of  the  said  Parish,  and  for  payment  of  his  demand ; 
and  it  appearing  also  to  us  that  by  the  rebuilding  of  the  said 
Church,  the  same  is  greatly  enlarged,  as  appears  by  the  Plan 
hereunto  annexed ;  and  we,  the  Inhabitants  and  Parishioners  of 
the  sai4  Parish,  thinking  it  would  be  impossible  to  collect  the 
said  iponey  by  a  Tax,  have  agreed  that  the  new  part  of  the  said 
Church,  as  described  in  the  said  Plan,  shall  be  sold  to  defray 
such  debt.  Therefore  it  is  agreed  by  us  whose  names  are  hereto  ' 
subscribed,  being  the  major  part  of  the  Inhabitants  and  Parish- 
ioners present.  That  application  be  made  to  the  proper  officer  of 
thjB  Consistory  Court  of  the  Diocese  of  St.  Asaph,  that  a  com- 
mission under  the  seal  of  the  officer  of  the  Lord  Bishop  of  the 
Diocese  shall  issue  to  empower  the  Vicar  of  the  parish  of  Eglwys 
Fach  aforesaid,  for  the  time  being,  to  sell  such  parts  of  the 
Church  of  Eglwys  Fach  aforesaid  as  is  described  in  the  Plan, 
and  called  the  New  Church,  in  order  that  the  money  arising 
therefrom  may  be  applied  in  discharging  the  debt  remaining  as 
aforesaid,  and  for  no  other  use  or  purpose  whatsoever,  and  that 
an  application  be  made  to  the  Lord  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  for 
his  conJBrmation  of  the  same  ;  and  that  the  said  ground  be  sold 
amongst  the  Inhabitants  of  the  said  parish  who  stand  in  need  of 
seats,  and  will  purchase  the  same. 

"  J.  Hughes,  Vicar", 

two  churchwardens,  three  overseers,  and  thirteen  other  names. 


IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  243 

From  other  minutes  which  shall  be  hereafter  quoted, 
it  would  seem  that  the  consent  of  the  Bishop  was  ob- 
tained to  the  proposal  for  selling  the  ground  as  sitting- 
places  to  the  inhabitants ;  but  until  the  sale  could  be 
accomplished,  money  from  that  source  could  not  be 
obtained ;  and  as  the  debt  remaining  on  the  church 
was  pressing  heavily  upon  the  parishioners,  it  was  re- 
solved that  £200  should  be  borrowed  oft  the  security 
of  the  parish,  and  the  foUowing  minute  has  reference 
to  this  resolution  : — 

"At  a  vestry  held  in  the  parish  church  of  E^^lwys  Facli,  on 
Monday  the  20th  day  of  November  1786,  it  was  ordered  that 
the  sum  of  £200  be  Borrowed  upon  the  security  of  the  Parish 
of  Eglwys  Fach  aforesaid,  towards  paying  for  the  rebuilding  of 
the  said  Church,  legal  interest  to  be  paid  for  the  same. 

"  Ordered  that  the  money  arising  from  the  sale  of  the  seats  in 
the  said  Church  be  applied  towards  the  payment  of  the  Princi- 
pal. 

"  John  Hughes,  Vicar", 
three  churchwardens,  and  nine  other  names. 

Undue  haste  in  the  transaction  of  business  does  not 
appear  to  be  a  failing  which  could  be  laid,  in  the  last 
century,  to  the  charge  of  the  parishioners  of  Eglwys 
Fach,  for  we  find  that  several  years  had  elapsed  before 
active  steps  were  taken  for  the  contemplated  sale  of 
seats.  Perhaps  we  do  not  now  know  all  the  causes  for 
these  delays,  and  it  is  possible  that  in  part  the  blame 
belonged  to  parties  outside  the  parish  of  Eglwys  Fach. 
However,  unreasonable  delays  in  the  sale  did  occur,  as 
proved  by  the  following  resolutions  : — 

"Istof  Novr.  1790. 

"At  a  vestry  held  this  day  it  is  unanimously  agreed  that  a 
J'aculty  or  Quorum  Interest  for  the  New  ground  in  the  present 
Church,  lately  erected  in  this  parish,  shall  be  applied  for  in  the 
name  of  the  present  minister  and  churchwardens,  to  be  vested 
in  them  or  their  successors  for  the  time  being,  for  the  following 
purposes  (viz.),  to  be  by  them  put  up  to  Ballot  by  Lots,  accord- 
ing to  the  Plan  now  drawn,  and  that  no  preference  in  choice  of 
ground  shall  be  allowed  to  any  person  whatsoever.  And  it  is 
further  agreed  that  the  said  minister  and  churchwardens  for  the 


244  HOW  CHURCHES  WERE  BUILT 

time  being,  and  their  successors  for  the  time  being,  shall  convey 
any  Lot  or  Lots  of  ground  in  the  said  Church  according  to  the 
said  plan,  as  the  same  shall  be  drawn  out  on  fair  Ballot  for  that 
purpose,  by  any  person  that  may  hereafter  subscribe  thereto, 
the  same  to  be  conveyed  to  such  person  at  the  price  mentioned 
upon  such  plan  for  the  Lot  he  shall  draw  out  upon  such  Ballot. 

"  J.  Hughes" 
and  nine  other  names. 

"  Ordered  at  the  same  vestry  that  Owen  Williams,  vestry  cl'k, 
is  desired  to  write  a  Letter  to  all  the  proprietors  of  Land  in  this 
parish,  that  a  sale  of  the  new  property  in  the  Church  shall  be 
on  Monday  the  18th  day  of  June  next. 

"  J.  Hughes" 
and  seven  other  names. 

The  introduction  of  the  ballot,  to  avoid  bickering,  is 
a  curious  feature  in  the  transactions  connected  with  the 
building  of  this  church.  Everything  was  done  very  de- 
liberately by  the  parishioners,  or  rather  the  parochial 
authorities,  for  it  was  nearly  two  years  ere  the  last 
resolution  was  put  into  effect.  This  the  following  reso- 
lution proves : — 

"At  a  vestry  duly  assembled  and  held  in  the  Parish  Church 
of  Eglwys  Fach,  the  18th  day  of  June  1792,  pursuant  to  due 
and  Public  notice  previously  given,  for  the  purpose  of  putting 
into  execution  a  certain  faculty  or  commission  granted  out  of 
the  Ecclesiastical  Court  of  St.  Asaph,  thereby  authorising  the 
churchwardens  of  the  said  parish  of  Eglwys  Fach  for  the  time 
being  to  sell  and  dispose  of  the  new  ground  in  the  said  Church, 
in  certain  Lots,  in  the  said  Commission  or  Faculty  ment'd  and 
descM,  for  the  purpose  of  making  seats  or  Pews  thereon  to 
answer  the  end  purposed  by  the  said  Commissioners.  We,  there- 
fore, the  Minister  and  the  Churchwardens,  Landowners,  and 
other  the  Inhabitants  of  the  said  parish,  hereunder  named,  have 
as  far  as  in  us  lie  conformed  with  the  said  Commission,  and  do 
hereby  declare  that  the  several  Persons  whose  names  or  hand- 
writing hereunder  mentioned  and  affixed  opposite  to  the  num- 
ber of  the  several  Lots  and  sums  of  money  (appearing  to  be  the 
value  of  each  respective  Lot),  we,  the  purchasers  of  such  Lots, 
are  entitled  to  have  a  proper  conveyance  of  the  same  executed 
by  the  proper  parties  upon  Payment  of  the  Purchase  money  due 
from  them  respectively ;  and  we  do  hereby  order  that  if  Lady 
Kyiiin  will  not  take  the  following  Lots,  namely  No.  40,  39,  27, 


IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY. 


245 


and  28,  in  the  seven  guineas  range  of  seats,  and  pay  the  same 
according,  the  sale  in  such  case  as  to  the  whole  of  the  seven 
guineas  seats  to  be  void  and  of  no  effect." 

Immediately  following  the  preceding  minute  comes 
a  list  of  the  persons  who  purchased  seats,  the  number 
of  the  lots,  and  the  amount  given  for  each  sitting.  As 
it  may  be  interesting  to  some  parties  in  the  parish  of 
Eglwys  Fach  to  know  who  purchased  these  seats,  I  will 
record  their  names  as  given  in  the  parish  book  : — 


PnrcbaMr's  Name.                                      No.  of  Lot 

Value 

• 

"  John  Hughes,  Vicar 

.     38 

£7 

0 

Edward  Edwards  Penant 

.     87 

0 

Hugh  Roberts 

.     35 

0 

John  Owen 

.     84 

e 

Evan  Roberts,  Henblas 

.     83 

0 

VViUiam  LI.  Roberts 

.     32 

0 

Richard  Middleton,  Esq. 

.     31 

0 

Hnmphrej  Williams 

.     30 

0 

Philip  Yorke,  Esq. 

.    29 

0 

Eliza  Kjffin 

.    40 

0 

Ditto        .... 

39 

0 

Ditto 

.     27 

0 

Ditto 

.     28 

0 

Proprietor  of  Frith  Newydd   . 

5 

5 

0 

Abel  Lloyd 

5 

5 

0 

Abel  Lloyd 

5 

5 

0 

Ann  Hughes 

6 

5 

0 

William  LI.  Roberts 

5 

5 

0 

J  no.  Chalmers  Jones,  Esq. 

5 

5 

0 

H.  Roberts 

5 

5 

0 

R.  M.  Humphreys  . 

5 

5 

0 

Mrs.  Roberts 

5 

5 

Q 

Edward  Lloyd,  Esq. 

5 

5 

0 

Richard  Davies 

6 

5 

0." 

After  these  names  is  a  note  to  the  effect  that  "  the 
purchase  money  to  be  paid  on  the  1st  day  of  August 
next." 

At  a  vestry  held  Sept.  21,  1792,  the  majority  of  the 
parishioners  present  voted  the  gift  of  a  seat  to  the 
Vicar,  John  Hughes ;  and  at  the  same  vestry  a  seat 
was  sold  to  Abel  Lloyd  of  Esgorebrill  for  £10  1 5s.  A 
further  sale  of  seats  took  place  Dec.  3,  1792  ;  but  I 
will  record  the  transaction  in  the  words  of  the  minute  : 


246  HOW  CHURCHES  WERE  BUILT 

"At  a  vestry  held  and  assembled  in  the  parish  church  of 
Eglwys  Fach,  the  3rd  day  of  December  1792,  it  was  ordered 
that  a  certain  seat  or  sitting  place  on  the  north  side  of  the  altar 
in  the  said  Parish  Church  was  to  be  set  up  on  sale  ;  accordingly 
the  same  was  sold  to  John  Roberts,  representative  of  John 
Forbes,  Esq.,  for  the  sum  of  £16  :  7  :  6 ;  and  at  the  same  time 
No.  41,  42,  in  the  range  of  the  seven  guineas  seats  were  sold 
unto  Mr.  Hugh  Kyffin,  representative  to  Sir  W.  W.  Wynne,  for 
the  sum  of  £14  14^. ;  and  also  No.  14  in  the  range  of  the  £5  5^. 
seats  was  sold  to  David  Morris,  representative  to  Mr.  Thomas 
Parry  of  Ty  Gwyn." 

From  another  entry  it  would  seem  that  certain  parties 
in  the  erection  of  seats  had  exceeded  their  liberty ;  but 
again  I  will  transcribe  from  the  Vestry  Book  : — 

"  At  the  vestry  held  in  the  Parish  Church  of  Eglwys  Fach,  on 
Monday  the  11th  day  of  February  1793,  by  the  parishioners 
then  and  there  assembled,  it  was  ordered  that  whereas  Sir  Wat- 
kin  Williams  Wynne,  Bart's,  seats  incroached  too  far  into  the 
sitting  place  of  Lewis  Lloyd  Williams  of  Hafodwryd,  Esq.,  if 
the  said  Lewis  Williams  will  make  a  decent  seat  in  the  Church, 
he  shall  be  allowed  one  yard  in  bredth  and  length  from  aisle  to 
aisle  to  fix  the  same ;  and  whereas  the  said  Sir  Watkin  had  a 
greater  quantity  of  ground  for  sitting  places  in  the  old  Church 
than  appears  he  has  in  the  new  Church,  It  was  then  ordered 
that  he  should  have  the  Bench  or  sitting  place  on  the  south  side 
of  his  old  seat,  and  one  of  the  five  guinea  seats  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Church,  which  together  will  make  up  the  deficiency." 

The  following  entry  implies  that  certain  parishioners 
would  not  hesitate,  if  their  rights  were  invaded,  to 
resort  to  physical  strength,  it  may  be,  to  prevent  the 
erection  of  seats  on  their  ground;  and  apparently  seats 
were  sold  conditionally,  upon  the  understanding  that, 
should  objection  be  made  to  the  buyer's  rights,  by  pur- 
chase, to  a  certain  space  in  the  Church,  the  money  given 
for  the  same  should  be  returned  to  the  purchaser.  The 
resolution  referring  to  this  matter  is  as  follows  : — 

"  May  4th,  1793. 

"  We,  the  minister  and  churchwardens  and  other  parishioners 
of  Eglwys  Fach,  met  at  a  vestry  meeting,  do  hereby  acknowledge 
to  have  received  of  John  Forbes,  Esq.,  by  the  payment  of  Mr. 


IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  247 

Edwards,  sixteen  pounds,  seven  shillings,  and  sixpence,  for 
ground  to  erect  a  pew  or  seat  thereon  on  the  north  side  of  the 
altar  in  the  said  Church  of  Eglwys  Fach,  and  we  do  engage  to 
hereby  repay  the  said  sum  to  the  said  John  Forbes,  Esq.,  or  his 
heirs,  in  case  any  person  prevents  him  from  erecting  a  pew  or 
seat  on  the  said  ground." 

With  this  quotation  I  bring  to  a  close  these  interest- 
ing extracts  from  the  Vestry  Book  of  Eglwys  Fach. 
The  extracts  show  the  difl&culties  connected,  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  with  the  erection  of  churches  in 
rural  districts  in  Wales,  and  they  also  show  that  up  to 
the  very  end  of  the  last  century  the  parishioners  were 
probably,  in  North  Wales  parishes,  church-going  people. 

It  remains  for  me  to  thank  cordially  the  Rev.  H.  I. 
Davies,  Vicar  of  Eglwys  Fach,  for  his  kindness  in  allow- 
ing me  to  make  extracts  from  the  parish  books,  and 
also  for  the  trouble  that  he  took  in  transcribing  for  my 
use  several  of  the  extracts  above  given. 


248 


laebietos  and  BoUm  of  Haoh^. 


A  History  of  Little  England  beyond  Wales,  and  the  Non-Kymbio 
Colony  settled  in  Psmbbokeshirb.  By  Edwabd  Laws.  Lon^ 
don  :  George  Bell  and  Sons. 

(second  notice.) 

OuB  preoeding  notice  of  the  work  of  onr  able  and  inde&tigable 
General  Secretary  for  Sonth  Wales  dealt  only  with  that  portion  of 
it  devoted  to  what  may  be  termed  primeval  Pembrokeshire,  and 
with  that  period  npon  which  the  archeoologist  is  the  chief  aathority. 
In  this  branch  of  inqniry  no  connty  history  with  which  we  are 
acquainted  can  compare  with  the  work  at  present  nnder  review.  Bat 
when  we  come  to  the  period  for  which  research  of  a  different  order 
is  required,  we  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  Mr.  Laws  as  an 
historian  does  not  compare  advantageously  with  Mr.  Laws  as  an 
archsBologist.  It  could  hardly  be  otherwise ;  for  it  is  given  to  few 
men  to  be  eminent  in  several  fields,  any  one  of  which  calls  for  un- 
divided attention.  Mr.  Laws  is  an  experienced  and  successful 
digger  and  delver  in  barrow  and  tumulns,  and  we  cannot  expect 
him  to  attain  equal  eminence  as  a  plodder  through  musty  deeds 
and  records.  The  consequence  is,  that  whenever  we  come  across 
any  details  connected  with  or  illustrated  by  pre-historic  "  finds'', 
tbey  are  presented  con  amore^  and  leave  nothing  to  be  desired ;  but 
whenever  we  might  hope  for  discoveries  in  parchment  or  paper^ 
we  are  disappointed.  While,  therefore,  there  is  in  the  first  fifty 
pages  much  that  is  fresh  and  of  the  greatest  value,  in  the  remain- 
ing three  hundred  there  is  little  that  has  not  been  gathered  froni 
well-known  sources.  True,  the  gleaning  has  been  well  and  care- 
fully done,  and  it  is  a  decided  gain  to  have  a  number  of  scattered 
facts  and  notices  woven  into  a  clear  and  continuous  narrative. 
The  day  has  perhaps  gone  by  for  such  works  as  Ey ton's  Shrop^ 
shire^  or  Ormerod's  Oheshire  ;  but  we  are  conservative  enough  to 
regard  those  monuments  of  human  patience  and  research  witb 
reverence,  if  not  with  love.  We  admit  that  by  many  they  may  be 
considered  heavy,  and  that  they  are  likely  to  remain  ''  caviare  to 
the  general";  while  of  Mr.  Laws'  Pembrokeshire  it  certainly  cannot 
be  said  that  it  is  dull,  or  that  it  will  not  be  *'  understanded  of  the 
people". 

There  is  plenty  in  the  book  to  merit  the  heartiest  commenda- 
tion, and  we  could  easily  specify  portions,  especially  those  dealing 
with  the  fortunes  of  the  county  in  its  later  days,  to  prove  our 
assertion.     But  as  it  seems  highly  probable  that  it  will  run  into 


REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OF  BOOKS.  249 

another,  perhaps  several  editions,  we  think  that  we  shall  be  doing 
better  service  to  the  author  if  we  call  attention  to  snch  points  as 
we  consider  are  open  to  question  and  improvement.  For  instance, 
Mr.  Laws  has  been  especially  careful  to  record  the  constant  squabbles 
of  Briton,  Saxon,  Norman,  and  Fleming ;  but  he  nowhere  gives  us 
a  clear  and  satisfactory  conception  of  the  elements  which  went  to 
make  up  Pembrokeshire  society,  the  friction  between  which  was  the 
cause  of  those  miserable  and  ceaseless  conflicts.  To  say  that  the 
Welsh  were  of  different  temperament  to  the  other  nationalities 
cooped  up  within  the  narrow  confines  of  the  modem  county,  and 
that  their  love  of  independence  or  abhorrence  of  restraint  was  so 
great  that  ihey  could  not  brook  a  master's  hand,  is  to  offer  only  a 
partial  explanation  of  the  chronic  turmoil  of  Pembrokeshire  and  of 
every  other  district  of  Wales.  One  of  the  most  striking  facts  in 
the  history  of  the  Principality  is  the  remarkably  quiet  manner  in 
which  the  people  of  Gwynedd  acquiesced  in  the  conquest  of 
Edward  I.  They  had  been  brought  to  more  desperate  straits 
before  i.D.  1282,  and  had  capable  leaders  after  the  fall  of  Llywelyn. 
But  the  clue  to  the  change  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  con- 
quest of  Edward  meant  not  only  the  subjugation  of  the  people, 
but  the  inauguration  of  a  new  system  of  internal  policy  by  the 
introduction  of  certain  reforms  into  a  community  established  on 
ideas  that  had  worn  themselves  out,  and  that,  by  respecting  some  of 
its  most  cherished  notions,  gradually  brought  into  accord  the  diverse 
elements  in  Cymric  and  Teutonic  society.  The  pacification  of 
Wales  by  Edward  was  a  much  nobler  achievement  than  its  con- 
quest. So  also  the  commonly  accepted  idea  that  there  was  some- 
thing inherent  in  the  Welshman  that  led  him  to  fight  rather  than 
live  in  peace  is  founded  upon  an  insufficient  knowledge  of  the  lines 
upon  which  the  nation  was  developing  before  those  lines  were  bene- 
ficially diverted  by  the  English  conquest.  The  tranquillity  that  has 
been  the  characteristic  of  Welshmen  ever  since  that  period — with 
the  single  important  exception  of  Glyndwr's  revolt,  the  exceptional 
nature  of  which  is  seen  in  the  calm  that  followed  his  death — proves 
that  the  undoubted  turbulence  of  the  earlier  centuries  arose  from 
something  outside  themselves  rather  than  from  inborn  tendencies, 
from  environment  rather  than  from  character.  Therefore,  when 
Mr.  Laws  says  (p.  66)  that  the  Kymro  "  proved  himself  incapable 
of  autonomy",  because  he  made  no  headway  against  Silurian, 
Gael,  Saxon^  and  Scandinavian,  it  only  shows  that  he  has  not 
apprehended  the  nature  of  the  conditions  that  kept  the  Cymry 
from  attaining  to  national  unity. 

At  p.  70  Mr.  Laws  describes  the  policy  of  Rhodri  Mawr,  who  is 
said  to  have  divided  the  Principality  between  his  three  sons,  as 
*'  parochial",  and  considers  that  the  hideous  and  interminable  wars 
that  devastated  Wales  in  the  tenth  century  "  were  due  rather  to 
the  senseless  law  of  succession  instiitUed  by  the  founder  of  the 
dynasty  (i.e.,  Rhodri)  than  to  individual  wickedness  and  folly". 
This  belief  Mr.  Laws  has  adopted  from  the  ordinary  writers  of 


250  REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OPBOOKS. 

Welsh  history ;  but  if  Bhodri  can,  by  the  utmost  stretch  of  proba* 
bility,  be  said  to  have  instituted  the  partition  of  the  Welsh  king- 
dom, it  is  certain  that  he  only  applied  to  the  throne  the  existing 
rales  of  succession  to  land.  Similar  phases  of  national  and  social 
life  had  been  passed  through  by  his  Teutonic  adversanas,  nntil 
circumstances  forced  them  into  new  forms  of  political  and  economic 
progresa  Sir  Henry  Maine  has  observed  that  the  institutions  of 
the  Irish  (and  therefore  those  of  the  Welsh)  were  virtually  the 
same  institutions  as  those  out  of  which  the  "just  and  honourable 
law"  of  England  grew;  and  he  goes  on  to  remark  that  '^i^hy  these 
institutions  followed  in  their  development  such  different  paths  it  is 
the  province  of  history  to  decide".  Our  complaint  is  that  Mr. 
Laws  has  not  contributed  towards  that  decision,  as  we  might 
reasonably  have  expected  him  to  do.  , 

Another  branch  of  the  histoiy  of  Pembrokeshire  in  which  we  find 
Mr.  Laws*s  work  at  present  detective  is  the  condition  of  the  body  of 
the  people  at  an  epoch  when  glimpses  of  their  social  existence  would 
be  valuable.  The  early  forms  of  civil  life,  the  tenures  under  which 
the  general  community  cultivated  their  lands  or  pastured  their 
cattle,  and  the  relations  existing  between  them  and  their  superiors, 
are  in  these  days  subjects  of  close  inquiry;  and  it  is  to  the  county 
historian  that  the  student  of  early  institutions  looks  for  much  of 
the  material  necessary  for  his  deductions.  He  would  naturally 
expect  that  a  history  of  Pembrokeshire,  with  its  Celtic  portion 
under  tribal  organisation,  its  Norman  lordships  under  more  or  less 
strict  feudalism,  its  ecclesiastical  domain  of  Dewisland  presenting 
features  of  both  systems,  would  furnish  him  with  plentiful  in- 
stances of  the  action  of  each  upon  the  other.  But  Mr.  Laws  has 
neglected  this  field  of  inquiry.  He  frequently  quotes  from  the 
Harleian  MS.  of  George  Owen,  but  has  omitted  a  passage  which 
exhibits  the  survival  of  an  archaic  custom  down  to  the  writer's 
own  day.  The  lord  of  Kemes  notes  the  existence  of  a  peculiar 
tenancy  called  Rudvall,  which,  by  his  description  of  it,  seems  to 
have  been  a  relic  of  the  system  of  communal  holc^ng  ;  and  as  tbis 
happens  to  be  the  only  clear  account  of  such  a  custom  throughout 
the  whole  of  South  Wales  beyond  what  we  have  in  the  Law$ 
(though  it  must  have  been  very  common  in  other  districts),  it  is  a  pity 
that  our  historian  should  not  have  turned  the  benefit  of  his  local 
knowledge  to  account,  and  have  given  us  some  particulars  of  it  from 
ancient  title-deeds  or  surveys.  Then  there  are  the  **  Tudwaldi", 
tenants  of  the  episcopal  manor  of  St.  David's,  of  whose  existence 
we  are  made  aware  by  the  Valor  of  Henry  VIII,  but  of  whom  we 
hear  nothing  from  Mr.  Laws.  We  have  met  with  the  transcript  of 
a  charter  (now  in  one  of  the  Irish  libraries),  we  think  of  the  date 
of  Bishop  Gower,  which  has  never  appeared  in  the  Archceologia 
Cambrensis,  and  which  is  of  importance  as  enumerating  the  epis- 
copal possessions;  but  it  contains  no  notice  of  the  peculiar  class 
of  tenants  above  mentioned.  Perhaps  Mr.  Laws  was  afraid  of 
making   his   work   too   dull;  but   we  consider  as  much  popular 


REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OF  BOOKS.  251 

interest  can  be  extracted  from  an  old  inquisition  as  from  a  tnmnlns. 
He  has  gone  so  far  as  to  give  extracts  from  the  charters  of  Pem- 
broke ;  bnt  since  these  exist  only  in  copies  which  have  never  been 
published,  we  trust  he  will  print  them  entire  in  his  second  edition. 

We  have  space  to  mention  bnt  one  or  two  other  points  for 
correction  or  further  reflection.  The  Romans  could  not  have 
reached  Pembrokeshire  so  early  as  a.d.  52  (p.  37),  as  it  was  only 
in  the  preceding  year  that  Carataeos  was  overthrown.  The  ob- 
servation (p.  53)  that  the  mission  of  German  as  resulted  in  the 
fusion  of  the  Kunedda  and  Brychan  schools  of  Christianity  is 
ingenious,  but  not  convincing.  The  birthplace  of  St.  Patrick  (p.  55) 
is  not  placed  by  modem  scholars  in  the  sonth-west  of  England. 
The  statement  that  **  Ogma  was  the  son  of  Tuatha  de  Danaan"  (p. 
61)  requires  after  the  word  **  of"  "  one  of  the  gods  of  the".  To  say 
(p.  69)  that  Hywel  dda  was,  of  course,  outside  the  pale  of  the 
Church  of  Rome,  "as  the  Welsh  Church  had  not  acknowledged 
the  supremacy  of  the  Pope",  is  misleading.  What  was  denied  was 
the  supremacy  of  the  see  of  Canterbury,  though  at  the  date  of 
Hywel  even  this  is  probleinatical  (see  an  admirable  note  on  this 
question  by  Mr.  E.  J.  Newell  in  the  Cardiff  Weekly  Mail  of  15th 
May,  "Cymru  Fu"  column).  We  are  surprised  to  learn  (p.  112) 
that  the  Gwylliaid  Cochion  Mawddwy,  who  in  1555  murdered 
Baron  Owen,  had  had  an  unbroken  existence  of  four  centuries  and 
a  half,  having  been  "founded"  by  Owain  ap  Cadwgan,  who  was 
killed  in  1113 ;  the  author  has  adopted  a  late  invention.  The  asser- 
tion (p.  168)  that  Henry  II  "practically  conquered  the  Principality" 
requires  considerable  qualification ;  and  instead  of  Glyndwr  having 
thrown  away  a  fair  chance  by  his  non-appearance  at  Shrewsbury 
fight,  the  late  Mr.  T.  O.  Morgan  has  proved  in  our  own  pages  (2nd 
Series,  vol.  ii,  p.  117)  that  he  never  had  a  chance  at  all,  being  too 
far  away  to  join  the  luckless  Hotspur.  Lastly,  the  note  on  p.  244, 
calling  in  question  the  accuracy  of  the  late  Mr.  Thomas  Wright, 
who  attributed  a  letter  of  Barlow,  Prior  of  Haverfordwest,  and 
afterwards  Bishop  of  St.  David's,  to  the  year  1533,  is  superfluous. 
Further  inquiries  will  show  Mr.  Laws  that  Mr.  Wright  was  per- 
fectly correct. 

Such  errors  and  omissions  as  we  have  pointed  out  are  easily 
remedied,  and  militate  but  slightly  against  the  real  value  of  Mr. 
Laws's  work.  Frequent  perusal  brings  out  its  excellences,  and 
its  slight  defects  sink  into  comparative  insignificance.  We  trust 
the  time  will  soon  come  when  the  call  for  a  new  edition  will  allow 
of  their  complete  elimination. 


OoHAM  Inscriptions  in  Ireland,  Wales,  and  Scotland.  By  the 
late  Sir  Samuel  Ferguson,  P.R.I.A.,  LL.D.  Edinburgh : 
David  Douglas.     1887.     8vo.    Pp.  164 

The   study  of  Ogham  inscriptions   is   one   of  the  least  popular 
branches  of  archroology,  and  the  reason  of  this  appears  to  be  that 

5th  8EB.,  VOL.  V.  IS 


252  REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OP  BOOKS. 

the  anthorities  on  the  subject  have  arrived  at  no  definite  concla- 
sion  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  inscriptions,  or  as  to  the  origin  of  the 
peculiar  form  of  letter  in  which  they  are  written.  Most  people 
like  to  be  told  dogmatically  what  they  should  believe.  As  Mark 
Twain  says,  when  he  sees  an  object  in  a  museum  labelled  as  being 
of  uncertain  date,  it  prodoces  no  effect  upon  his  imagination  what- 
ever; but  if  its  age  is  marked  several  hundred  years  B.C.,  he  is 
deeply  impressed.  Without  wishing  to  depreciate  the  services 
rendered  to  science  by  the  late  Sir  S.  Ferguson,  we  fear  that  he 
has  not  succeeded  in  advancing  the  study  of  Ogham  inscriptions 
sufficiently  far  to  enable  the  general  reader  to  accept  his  conclu- 
sions unhesitatingly.  The  present  volume  contains  the  Rhind 
Lectures  on  ArchsBology,  delivered  in  the  autumn  of  1884  at 
Edinburgh,  in  connection  with  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Scot- 
land. Before  the  work  was  ready  for  the  press,  the  accomplished 
President  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy  died,  deeply  lamented  by  all 
who  had  the  privilege  to  know  him,  and  leaving  a  gap  amongst 
Irish  antiquaries  that  will  not  easily  be  filled.  The  history  of  his 
labours  is  told  in  the  preface  as  follows :  *'  For  many  years  it  had 
been  the  habit  of  Sir  S.  Ferguson  to  spend  his  summer  holidays  in 
visiting  these  monuments.  His  time  and  energies  for  the  rest  of 
the  year  were  devoted  to  his  professional  or  official  duties ;  but  his 
annual  vacation  was  consecrated  to  the  pursuit  of  poetry,  litera- 
ture, and  antiquities.  The  sedentary  life  of  the  city  was  then  laid 
aside,  and  the  long  summer  days  were  passed  driving  about  the 
country  in  search  of  these  and  kindred  subjects  of  interest.  The 
rough  accommodation  and  homely  fare  which  these  excursions 
often  entailed  were  not  without  their  attraction  for  him;  his 
genial  nature  was  happy  in  simple  intercourse  with  his  fellow- 
man,  while  the  varied  beauties  of  the  extenal  world  ever  gave  him 
deep  and  keen  delight.  Year  after  year  every  nook  and  comer  of 
Ireland  and  Wales  was  thus  explored."  The  result  of  these 
annual  expeditions  was  that  before  his  death  Sir  S.  Ferguson  had 
visited  and  taken  casts  of  almost  every  Ogham  monument  in  Great 
Britain,  with  the  exception  of  those  in  Scotland.  One  hundred 
and  sixty-three  of  these  casts  have  been  photographed  by  direction 
of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  and*  twenty-one  have  been  published 
in  their  Transactions.  This  being  the  case,  it  is  a  matter  of 
extreme  regret,  and  one  which  very  much  detracts  from  the  value 
of  the  book,  that  it  contains  no  illnstrations  whatever,  although  all 
this  material  was  available.  The  readings  of  the  inscriptions  only 
are  given,  so  that  without  referring  to  other  works  or  seeing  the 
stones  themselves  the  reader  has  no  means  of  testing  their  accu- 
racy. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remind  members  of  the  Cambrian 
ArchsBological  Association  that  the  Ogham  alphabet  is  formed  by 
straight  strokes  (numbering  from  one  .to  five),  branching  out  on 
either  side  of  a  stem-line,  or  cutting  right  across  it.  The  twenty 
letters  of  the  alphabet  are  divided  into  foar  groups  of  five  each,  thus : 


REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OP  BOOKS.  253 

B  L  F  8  N 
U  D  T  C  Q 
M  0  Ng  St  B 
A  0  U  B  I 

Assnining  ihe  stem-line  to  be  horizontal,  the  first  group  oonsists 
of  cross-strokes  drawn  at  right  angles  below  the  line  ;  the  second 
of  cross-strokes  drawn  at  right  angles  above  the  line ;  the  third  of 
long  strokes  drawn  diagonally  across  the  line ;  and  the  fourth  of 
short  strokes  drawn  at  right  angles  across  the  line.  In  addition  to 
the  above  there  is  a  supplementary  group  of  diphthongs,  called  the 
"  Forfeada"  or  "  overtrees",  expressing  the  following  sounds : 

Ea  oi  ui  la  Ae 

The  origin  of  the  Ogham  alphabet  is  a  hard  nut  to  crack. 
Canon  Isaac  Taylor  has  attempted  to  solve  the  problem,  in  his 
Greeks  and  QothSy  and  so  has  Prof.  Rhys,  in  his  Lectures  on  Welsh 
Philology;  but  no  satisfia*ctory  answers  have  been  given  to  the 
questions.  Who  invented  it,  Celts  or  Scandinavians  ?  When  was  it 
invented  P  Is  it  founded  on  the  Roman  alphabet,  or  derived  from 
the  Runic  Futhorc?  The  tradition  in  Ireland  is  that  it  was 
invented  by  the  half-mythical  Tuatha  de  Danaan,  a  colony  sup- 
posed to  have  come  from  the  north  of  Europe  through  Scotland. 
There  are  some  curious  resemblances  between  the  Ogham  and  the 
Runic  alphabets,  both  being  formed  of  straight  strokes  branching 
out  of  a  stem-line ;  both  being  divided  into  groups  of  letters ; 
and  both  having  the  letters  called  after  the  names  of  trees.  The 
later  Runic  alphabet  or  Futhorc  consists  of  sixteen  letters,  arranged 
in  three  groups,  thus : 

F  u  Th  0  R  c 

H  N  I  A  S 
T  B  L  M  T 

Setting  aside,  as  being  contrary  to  experience,  the  possibility  of 
a  new  alphabet  of  letters  representing  sounds  having  been  invented 
by  an  illiterate  people  without  passing  through  the  hieroglyphic 
and  other  stages  of  development,  it  is  evident  that  both  the  Runic 
and  Ogham  alphabets  must  have  been  derived  from  either  the 
Greek  or  Roman  ones;^  but  the  secret  of  the  alteration  of  the 
order  of  the  letters  has  yet  to  be  discovered.  The  fourth  group  of 
the  Ogham  alphabet  consists  entirely  of  vowels,  which  explains  its 
raison  d^Hre ;  and  Sir  S.  Ferguson  suggests  that  the  second  group 
is  an  anagpram  of  the  words  for  one,  two,  three,  four,  five  in  the 
ancient  Celtic  speech,  thus :      H'aen 

Da 

Tri 

Cathar 

but  this  theory  appears  to  be  very  far-fetched. 

^  These  being  the  ones  derived  from  the  Pho&Dician  alphabet,  which  the 
Celts  and  Scandinavians  would  be  most  likely  to  have  seen. 

1R» 


254  REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OP  BOOKS. 

The  disfavour  into  which  the  study  of  Ogham  inPcriptioDs  has 
fallen  at  various  times,  and  the  openly  sceptical  opinions  which 
have  been  expressed  as  to  this  kind  of  letter  having  any  meaning 
at  all,  arise  irom  the  uncertainty  as  to  what  the  true  readings 
should  be.  Sir  S.  Ferguson  gives  a  clear  explanation  in  the  first 
chapter  of  the  reasons  why  correct  readings  are  so  difficult  to 
obtain,  even  when  the  key  to  the  alphabet  is  known.  Errors  are 
due  to  four  distinct  causes :  (1)  imperfections  in  the  alphabet 
itself;  (2)  want  of  skill  on  the  part  of  the  writer  or  carver;  (3) 
destruction  of  parts  of  the  inscription  by  the  effects  of  the  weather ; 
and  (4)  inequality  in  the  angle  of  the  stone  used  as  the  stem-line. 

The  Ogham  alphabet  has  an  inherent  defect  which  exists  in  no 
other>  for  the  shapes  of  the  letters  give  no  clue  as  to  whether  the 
inscription  is  in  the  proper  position  for  being  read,  or  whether  it  is 
upside  down.  In  some  cases  also  the  inscriptions  are  intended  to 
read  from  right  to  left,  instead  of  from  lefl  to  right.  There  are  thus 
four  distinct  ways  of  reading  an  inscription,  be«inse  the  first  group 
of  letters,  if  placed  in  its  proper  position,  with  the  cross-strokes 
below  the  horizontal  stem-line,  and  read  forwards  (t.0.,  from  left  to 
right),  gives  blfsn  ;  but  if  read  backwards  (i.e.,  from  right  to  left), 
N8FLB ;  if  placed  upside  down  and  read  forwards  it  becomes  HDTcg  ; 
and  if  read  backwards  in  the  same  position,  qctdh. 

The  want  of  skill  on  the  part  of  the  writer  or  carver  of  the 
inscription  may  cause  the  strokes  forming  a  letter  to  be  inexactly 
spaced,  and  in  the  older  Ogham  inscriptions  there  are  no  points  to 
separate  the  words.  The  effects  of  weathering  or  fracture  of  the 
stone  may  remove  the  strokes  on  one  side  of  the  stem-line  or  at 
one  end  of  a  letter,  thus  entirely  altering  its  valne.  On  the  Ogham 
monuments  the  angle  of  the  stone  is  generally  used  as  the  stem- 
line,  and  if  it  is  not  perfectly  even  it  is  often  difficult  to  tell  on 
which  side  of  the  line  the  cross-strokes  are  intended  to  be. 

Sir  S.  Ferguson  says :  '*  With  so  many  canses  of  uncertainty, 
inherent  and  external,  it  is  not  surprising  that  scholars  of  fifty 
years  ago  looked  upon  Oghamio  investigation  as  an  unpromising 
employment.  Sir  James  Ware  and  Mr.  Astle  had  made  public 
the  fact  that  such  an  alphabet  existed,  and  that  Irish  manuscripts 
of  respectable  antiquity  professed  to  give  examples  of  several 
varieties  of  it,  and  to  furnish  keys.  Lhnyd,  the  father  of  Cambro- 
British  archeeology,  had  seen  the  Ogham  inscribed  stone  of  Bruseoa 
on  the  strand  at  Trabeg  Creek,  near  Dingle  Harbour,  in  Kerry. 
Petrie  had  made  known  the  general  appearance  of  such  a  monu- 
ment by  his  drawing  of  the  Ogham-inscribed  pillar-stone  at  St. 
Manchan's,  in  the  same  neighbourhood ;  but  he  did  not  at  that  time 
regard  such  an  inscription  as  true  alphabetic  writing,  and  attempted 
no  transliteration  of  the  digits  he  had  drawn." 

The  key  to  the  Ogham  alphabet  is  given  in  the  Book  of  BaUy- 
mote,  a  compilation  of  the  fourteenth  century  preserved  in  the 
Library  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy  in  Dablin,  and  a  knowledge 
of  the  meaning  of  the  Ogham  letters  still  survives  amongst  the 


REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OF  BOOKS.  255 

common  people  in  the  South  of  Ireland  in  a  doggrel  rhyme  begin- 
ning with  the  following  lines : 

"  For  B  one  stroke  at  your  right  hand, 
And  L  doth  always  two  demand  ; 
For  F  draw  three,  for  S  make  four  ; 
When  you  want  N  you  add  one  more." 

Sir  S.  Ferguson  quotes  a  curious  passage  out  of  the  Windele 
MSS.,  in  the  Library  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  about  a  man 
named  Collins,  living  at  Duneen,  co.  Cork,  who,  in  our  own  day, 
painted  a  long  Irish  poem  on  the  Zodiac  in  the  Ogham  character 
upon  his  favourite  walking-stick,  and  was  also  summoned  before 
the  magistrates  for  putting  his  name  on  his  cart  in  similar  letters. 
The  accuracy  of  the  key  given  in  the  Booh  of  BaZlymote  has  been 
proved  by  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Graves,  Bishop  of  Limerick, 
who  applied  the  well-known  cypher-test  to  the  Ogham  inscriptions 
of  Ireland,  and  also  by  the  discovery  of  the  Sagramnus  biliteral  and 
bilingual  stone  at  St.  Dogmael's,  in  Pembrokeshire. 

Sir  S.  Ferguson's  book  contains  seven  chapters,  the  first  being 
introductory,  the  next  four  dealing  with  the  inscriptions  of  Ireland, 
the  sixth  with  those  of  Wales  and  Devon,  and  the  last  with  those  of 
Scotland.  The  arrangement  is  geographical,  the  monuments  being 
described  in  the  order  in  which  they  were  visited,  with  remarks  as 
to  the  surrounding  scenery  and  the  situation  of  each.  The  whole 
is  divided  into  numbered  paragraphs  with  marginal  notes  in  the 
most  systematic  manner,  so  that,  with  the  aid  of  a  complete  index 
and  list  of  contents,  the  labour  of  looking  out  any  particular 
passage  is  reduced  to  a  minimum.  In  this  respect  it  compares 
very  &vourably  with  the  slovenly  manner  in  which  many  archsBO- 
logical  writers  put  their  work  together.  The  exact  position  of 
each  monument  is  careftiUy  defined,  and  a  reference  given  to  the 
sheet  of  the  Ordnance  Map  where  the  place  is  marked.  Many 
anthors  of  papers  in  the  journals  of  archsBological  societies  know  so 
well  where  the  localities  they  mention  are  to  be  found,  that  they 
assume  their  readers  are  equally  well  informed,  and  consequently 
omit  such  very  necessary  information  as  the  number  of  the  sheet  of 
the  Ordnance  Map,  the  county,  parish,  the  number  of  miles  north, 
Houth,  east,  or  west  of  some  large  town,  and  the  distance  from  the 
nearest  railway-station.  The  omission  of  particulars  of  this  kind 
causes  a  vast  amount  of  unnecessary  trouble  and  annoyance  to 
students. 

Sir  S.  Ferguson  has  produced  a  handbook  of  the  Ogham  monu- 
ments of  Great  Britain  which  will  be  a  great  help  to  future  inquirers 
wishing  to  visit  the  localities  where  they  are  to  be  found,  and  it  is 
also  valuable  as  giving  a  careful  series  of  readings  of  the  inscrip- 
tions ;  but  it  leaves  completely  untouched  all  the  most  interesting 
problems  connected  with  the  subject.  If  these  problems  are  ever 
to  be  solved,  it  must  be  by  some  person  like  Prof.  John  Rhys,  who 
possesses  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  Celtic  language.     Sir  S. 


256  REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 

Ferguson  was  himself  fally  aware  of  the  limits  of  his  powers,  for  he 
says:  *'I  shall  have  to  leave  the  qoestion  of  the  Irish  or  British,  as 
well  as  of  Pagan  or  Christian  origin,  dependent  on  the  question  of 
language,  which  I  do  not  profess  to  solve."  At  the  same  time,  the 
problem  has  not  yet  been  attacked  competently  from  its  archado- 
logical  side.  A  great  deal  may  be  learnt  from  a  map  showing  the 
geographical  position  of  all  the  monuments,  for  it  is  probable  that 
they  originated  in  the  part  of  the  country  where  they  are  most 
numerous/  that  is  to  say,  in  the  south-west  promontory  of  the 
CO.  Kerry.  A  list  of  the  stones,  arranged  according  to  the  asso- 
ciations in  which  they  have  been  found,  shows  that  a  considerable 
proportion  occur  in  churches  or  churchyards,  pointing  to  the  Chris- 
tian origin  at  least  of  some  of  them.  In  Ireland  the  largest  groups 
of  Ogham  monuments  and  the  greatest  number  collectively  have 
been  discovered  either  built  into  the  walls  and  roofs  of  the  under- 
ground chambers  within  raths,  or  in  ancient  burial-grounds  called 
^'killeens",  now  used  only  for  the  interment  of  unbaptised  infants 
and  suicides.  Sir  S.  Ferguson  and  Mr.  B.  Bolt  Brash  are  both  of 
the  opinion  that  the  building  materials  for  the  rath-caves  were 
obtained  from  the  neighbouring  killeens,  which  cemeteries  must,  if 
this  is  so,  be  of  greater  age  than  the  rath-caves.  It  is  to  be 
regretted  that  the  killeen^  have  not  been  more  thoroughly  ex- 
plored, with  a  view  to  determine  whether  the  burials  in  them  are 
Pagan  or  Christian.  Several  killeens  are  described  in  Mr.  R.  Rolt 
Brash's  Offhani'Inscribed  Monuments  of  the  Gaedhil^  and  in  one  that 
was  examined  the  bodies  were  not  cremated,  but  enclosed  in  rude 
cists  formed  of  stones  set  on  edge.  Superstitious  ceremonies  are 
still  performed  in  some  of  the  killeens,  consisting  of  making  the 
circuit  of  the  burial-ground  sunwise  whilst  saying  certain  prayers, 
and  leaving  votive  offerings  in  a  hollow  stone  basin  called  a 
"bullaun",  or  hanging  up  pieces  of  rag  on  a  thorn-tree  over  a  holy 
well.  A  certain  number  of  the  Ogham  monuments  are  marked 
with  crosses  of  early  form,  but  it  is  oflen  difficult  to  determine 
whether  the  sacred  symbol  and  the  inscription  were  both  carved  at 
the  same  time.  Sir  S.  Ferguson  believes  the  crosses  to  be  contem- 
poraneous with  the  inscriptions,  but  Mr.  Holt  Brash  takes  an  oppo- 
site view;  and  "when  doctors  disagree,  who  shall  decide?" 

The  sixth  chapter,  on  the  Welsh  Ogham  stones,  will  probably 
be  of  most  interest  to  the  readers  of  Archosologia  Camhrensis^ 
although  there  is  very  little  added  to  what  has  already  appeared  in 
our  Journal,  in  Prof.  Westwood's  Lapidarium  WallioB,  and  in  Prof. 
J.  Khys*s  Lectureei  on  T^eZ«/t  Philology. 

The  work  of  Sir  S.  Ferguson's  life  has  been  a  labour  of  love,  and 
it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  publication  of  his  lectures  will  induce 
others  to  take  up  the  study  of  the  early  sepulchral  monuments  of 

^  Dr.  J.  Anderson,  in  his  Scotland  in  Early  Christian  TtmeSf  First  Series, 
has  explained  this  method  very  ahly.  He  calls  the  group  consisting  of  the 
greatest  numher  of  examples  the  "  principal  group**,  and  the  others  the 
**  derived  groups'*. 


ARCH^OLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES.  257 

Great  Britain,  which  he  pursued  with  snch  untiring  energy ;  and 
if,  when  climbing  on  the  shoulders  of  an  intellectual  giant,  we  are 
enabled  to  see  further  into  the  past  than  the  giant  himself,  we 
must  not  forget  that  it  is  not  to  our  unaided  powers  of  vision  that 
we  owe  our  success. 


Sirdbaeologtcal  Botti  anH  ^nttita. 

An  Ancibnt  MS.  connected  with  Llandafp  Cathedral. — "  At  the 
Episcopal  Visitation  held  in  Llandaff  Cathedral  on  Wednesday  the 
23rd  inst.,  an  ancient  MS.  of  great  interest  connected  with  the  his- 
tory of  the  Chapter  was  delivered  intb  their  custody  by  Mr.  J.  B. 
OUivant,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Diocese.  The  existence  of  this  MS. 
had  been  for  many  years  unknown  to  the  members  of  the  Chapter 
until  interest  being  aroused  in  the  history  of  the  Chapter  in  the 
time  of  the  Cathedral  Commission  of  1853,  search  was  made  in  the 
Diocesan  Registry,  at  the  instigation  of  Bishop  Ollivant,  for  any 
MSS.  bearing  on  its  history.  The  Registrar,  Mr.  Huckwell,  when 
asked  what  documents  were  in  his  possession,  did  not  at  first  men- 
tion these ;  but  on  March  24  he  put  into  the  Bishop's  hands  some 
MSS.  in  parchment,  which  doubtless  formed  one  of  the '  three  books' 
said  by  Browne  Willis  (p.  177)  to  be  in  the  custody  of  the  Chapter 
of  Llandaff,  viz.,  the  Chapter  Act  Book,  begun  in  1575;  the  Liber 
LondavensU  ;  and  the  third  containing  '  some  orders  by  Bishop 
Blethin*.  The  Chapter  Act  Book  still  exists ;  the  TJSber  Landaven- 
sis  has  wandered  from  its  original  possessors,  and  is  now  in  the  pos- 
session of  Mr.  P.  B.  Davies-Cooke  of  Owston,  near  Doncaster; 
and  the  third  comprised  the  MSS.  restored  on  the  23rd  inst.  to  the 
Chapter.  These  were  rebound  and  carefully  guarded  by  the  late 
Bishop,  and  were  found  among  his  papers  by  the  Chancellor,  his 
executor,  by  whom  a  correct  copy  and  a  translation  have  been  made. 
The  Visitation  afforded  a  fitting  opportunity  to  restore  these  inte- 
resting pages  to  the  custody  of  the  Chapter. 

"The  first  sheet  (paged  81,  as  if  it  had  belonged  to  a  larger 
volume)  is  a  copy  of  a  dispensation  respecting  marriage  within  the 
prohibited  degrees,  granted  by  Cardinal  Wolsey.  The  other  side 
of  this  has  been  utilised  for  the  commencement  of  the  charge  of 
Bishop  Blethin  to  the  Chapter,  1575.  The  third  portion  is  headed 
*  Consuetadines  et  Ordinaciones  EcclesisB  Landavensis',  and  contains 
much  interesting  matter  respecting  the  government  of  the  Cathe- 
dral, the  residence  of  the  canons  and  their  rota  for  preaching,  the 
oaths  of  the  bishop  and  canons  on  installation,  and  so  forth,  in  six 
pages.  The  whole  ends  with  a  blessing  and  imprecation  on  those 
respectively  who  should  keep  and  violate  them,  and  a  declaration 
that  these  ordinances  were  sealed  by  the  Bishop  and  Chapter,  Janu- 


258  ARCH^OLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QrERIES. 

ary  80, 1575,  and  18  Eliz.  Amongst  the  details  we  find  that  snch 
canons  as  had  not  the  divinum  prcedicandi  donum  were  required  to 
pay,  instead  of  preaching,  the  sum  of  five  shillings  of  English 
money.  Every  canon  was  required  to  purchase  a  cope  of  the  value 
of  five  marks,  which  on  his  death  his  executors  were  to  hand  over 
to  the  church,  or  the  value  of  the  same. 

**  It  is  possible  that  these  are  ordinances  which  were  drawn  up  in 
the  time  of  Bishop  Henry,  Prior  of  Abergavenny,  who  regulated 
the  status  of  the  Chapter  between  1195  and  1218 ;  or  that  those 
concerning  the  '  Residence  of  the  Canons*  are  those  drawn  up  by 
William  de  Brewys,  1265-86,  which  are  to  be  found  in  the  original 
Liber  Landavensis.     That  there  is  some  connection  between  these 

*  Consuetudines'  and  the  Liber  Landavensis  appears  clear,  for  the 
Chancellor  forwarded  a  few  extracts  to  Mr.  Da  vies- Cooke,  who 
kindly  compared  them  with  his  MS.,  and  found  great  similarity ; 
for  instance,  the  entry  about  the  cope  is  to  be  found  in  both. 

'*  Some  extracts  from  the  *  Charge  of  Bishop  Blethin',  with  other 
interesting  matter,  may  be  found  in  the  Account  of  Llandaff  Cathe- 
dral^ published  by  Bishop  OUivant  in  the  year  I860."— FTeff^ni 
Mail,  May  25,  1888. 

Records  of  the  Bailiwick  of  Wrexham,  a.d.  1839  and  1840. — '*  It 
seems  desirable  to  call  attention  to  some  of  the  chief  points  of  inte- 
rest presented  by  the  records  which  the  Corporation  of  Wrexham 
have  lately  ordered  to  be  transcribed  and  translated.  These  records 
are  simply  the  proceedings  of  the  courts  of  the  bailiwick  of  Wrex- 
ham, held  between  Michaelmas  1339  and  Michaelmas  1840. 

"  The  bailiwick  or  raglotry  of  Wrexham  (representing  an  ancient 
Welsh  commote)  included,  besides  Wrexham,  the  following  town- 
ships : — Bhiwabon,  Dinhinlle  Isaf,  Dinhinlle  Uchaf  (then,  appa- 
rently, called  *  Trefibychain'),  Moreton   Wallicorum   (then   called 

*  Eglwysegl*),  Moreton  Anglicorum  (then  called  simply  *  Moreton'), 
Cristionydd  Kenrick,  Esclusham,  Minera,  Bersham,  Broughton, 
Brymbo  (then  sometimes  called  *  Bryn-baw'),  Erddig  (then  called 

*  Etirddicot'),  Stansty,  Acton,  Marchwiel,  Sontley,  Eyton,  and  Buy- 
ton.  The  other  townships  in  the  present  Hundred  of  Bromfield 
belonged  then  to  the  bailiwick  of  Marford. 

"  As  representing  an  old  Welsh  commote,  the  bailiwick  of  Wrex- 
ham had  its  group  of  ancient  Welsh  officers, — its  raglot,  its  ringild, 
its  sergeant  of  the  peace,  and  its  chief  forester,  aU  of  whom  are 
mentioned  in  the  record.  These  were  entitled  to  various  charges 
on  certain  lands.  They  were  entitled  also  to  levy  certain  sums  on 
the  tenants,  or  at  least  the  bond- tenants  of  the  lord.  But  Cenric  ap 
Codblawd  and  Einion  ap  Rhirid,  two  of  the  raglot's  bailifis,  were 
continually  being  'presented'  for  exacting  more  than  was  due;  and 
in  one  case  these  bailiffs  were  '  presented'  for  '  going  daily  as  guests 
to  the  houses  of  the  lord's  bondsmen  in  Dinhinlle,  to  their  damage, 
and  in  contempt  of  the  lord.' 

"  The  values  of  things  in  this  district  at  that  time  are  worthy  of 


ARCHiEOLOOIGAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES.  259 

notice.  Horses  were  worth  from  five  to  eleven  shillings  each,  and 
balls  from  fiye  to  six  shillings.  Cows  are  nearly  always  appraised 
at  six  shillings  and  eightpence,  and  lambs  wore  twopence  apiece. 
On  the  other  hand,  a  hive  of  bees  was  worth  nearly  nine  shillings. 
Lead  was  fifteen  shillings  a  charr^  the  charr  being  nearly  eqnal  in 
weight  to  onr  ton.  Corn  was  sold  by  the  hob  or  hobbett,  the  meill, 
and  the  qnarter.  The  hobbett  is  still  in  nse;  bat  I  have  never 
heard  of  the  meill.  Oats  were  threepence  a  hobbett,  and  there  were 
eight  hobbetts  in  a  quarter.  Wheat  was  two  shillings  a  quarter. 
Flax  was  sold  by  the  '  disne*,  whatever  that  may  be. 

"  lenan  Dymock,  the  second  of  the  well  known  family  of  Dymock, 
is  twice  mentioned  in  these  records;  bat  if  Dymock  is  really  a 
Welsh  surname,  it  was  the  only  Welsh  surname  then  established  in 
the  district.  With  this  doubtful  exception,  all  names  were  strictly 
personal,  and  not  hereditary.  Names  like  John,  Thomas,  and  Wil- 
liam, were  only  then  beginning  to  come  into  use,  and  were  still  very 
rare.  The  reaJly  common  male  names  were  Addaf,  Bleddyn,  Cadw- 
gan,  Cenric,  David,  Ednyfed,  Einion,  Elidyr,  Qriffydd,  Griffri, 
Grono,  Heilin,  Howel,  Hwfa,  leuaf,  leuan,  locyn,  Ithel,  lorwerth, 
Madoc,  Meilir,  Morgan,  Owen,  and  Rhys.  The  following  male  names 
occur  more -rarely:  Awr,  Belyn,  Cadifor,  Cyfnerth,  Daniel,  Donyn, 
Dyfynwyn,  Owyn,  Gwion,  Gwrgeneu,  Ifor,  Llywarch,  Madyn,  Med- 
ron,  Niniaw,  and  Rhirid.  I  give,  finally,  all  the  female  names  men- 
tioned in  the  record :  Angharad,  Dyddgu,  Efa,  Generys,  Genilles, 
Gwenllian,  Gwenhwyfar,  Gwerfil,  Gwladys,  Hawys,  Hunydd,  Lleuou, 
Marred,  Myfanwy,  Nest,  Tangwystl,  and  Tibot. 

"Scores  of  the  persons  mentioned  in  these  records  had  nick- 
names, and  in  some  cases  a  man's  nickname  wholly  displaced  his 
true  name.  Thus  one  man  was  always  called  *  Godblawd'  (Bag  of 
Meal),  another  'Bongam'  (Crooked  Shank),  a  third  'Talgrach' 
(Scabby  Forehead),  a  fourth  '  Bolgrach'  (Scabby  Belly),  and  a  fifth 
'Torddu'  (Black  Belly).  Then  we  have  names  like  *  Ithel  Gostog' 
(Ithel  the  Surly),  *  lorwerth  Grinwas'  (lorwerth  the  Niggard), 
'  Madoc  Hagr'  (Madoc  the  Ugly),  *  Cenric  Sant'  (Cenric  the  Saint), 
'  Madoc  Chwith*  (Madoc  the  Left-Handed),  *  locyn  Oer*  (locyn  the 
Cold).  *  Grono  y  Mes'  (Grono  of  the  Acorns)  may  also  be  mentioned 
as  a  curious  name. 

"  There  were  veiy  few  Englishmen  in  the  district ;  and  in  one 
trial  in  which  an  Englishman  was  concerned,  the  case  had  to  be 
adjourned  to  the  next  court  because  not  enough  of  his  countrymen 
were  present  to  form  a  jury.  There  were,  however,  a  good  many 
Englishmen  settled  near  Ruabon,  either  in  the  township  of  Dinhin- 
Ue  Isaf  or  in  that  of  Moreton-below-the-Dyke.  In  the  last  named 
township  were  at  that  time  iron  mines  ;  and  in  the  same  township, 
or  in  the  adjoining  township  of  Dinhinlle  Isaf,  was  also  a  forge ; 
and  I  think  it  must  have  been  in  connection  with  these  iron  mines 
and  forge  that  the  colony  of  Englishmen  just  mentioned  came  to  be 
established.  Now  the  eastern  portion  of  Moreton-below-the-Dyke 
forms  a  distinct  hamlet,  which  is  still  called  *  Moreton  Anglicorum', 


260  ARCHJEOLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

or '  Moreton  of  the  English',  and  this  hamlet  includes '  The  Gefeliau', 
a  name  which  means  '  the  Smithy',  whilst  just  outside  its  borders 
are  two  farms  which  for  centuries  have  been  called  '  The  Cinders'. 
Finally,  Moreton  Anglicornm  formed  part  of  a  manor  which  was 
called  'Manerinm  Fabrornm',  or  Manor  of  the  Smiths.  I  think, 
then,  that  Moreton  Anglicornm  was  possibly  the  district  occnpied 
by  the  Englishmen  who  worked  the  iron  mines  and  forge  above 
named.  How  were  the  spiritual  wants  of  these  Englishmen  sup- 
plied ?  In  answer  I  may  say  that  in  a  survey  of  Moreton  Anglico- 
rnm, taken  in  1620,  an  old  chapel,  then  in  'decay*,  is  mentioned 
there. 

'*  Besides  leuan  Dymock,  the  ancestors  of  several  other  well  known 
local  Welsh  families  are  mentioned  in  these  records,  the  ancestors 
of  the  Broughtons  of  Marchwiel,  the  Lloyds  of  Plas  Madoc,  the 
Eytons  of  Eyton,  the  Sontleys  of  Sontley,  and  of  the  present  Mr. 
Jones- Parry  of  Llwynon. 

"  More  interesting  still  it  is  to  find  mentioned,  not  once  only,  but 
again  and  again,  those  two  famous  brother  bards,  Madoc  Benbras 
and  Ednyfed  ap  Griffith.  It  seems  quite  worth  while  to  tell  the 
story  of  these  two  poets,  and  of  their  almost  equally  famous  brother, 
Llewelyn  Llogell>  the  parson  of  l^farchwiel. 

"  In  the  early  part  of  the  fourteenth  century  there  was  living  in 
the  neighbourhood  a  gentleman  of  ancient  Welsh  lineage,  who  owned 
a  large  part  of  the  townships  of  Sontley  and  Eyton,  and  from  whom 
the  Sontleys  of  Sontley  and  the  Eytons  of  Upper  Eyton  were 
derived.  His  name  was  Griffith  ap  lorwerth  ap  Einion.  Now  this 
gentleman  had  three  sons, — Ednyfed ;  Madoc,  commonly  called 
*  Madoc  Benbras'  (Madoc  Coarse  Head) ;  and  Llewelyn,  rector  of 
Marchwiel,  commonly  called  *  Llogell'  (or  Pocket).  Now  all  these 
three  sons  were  notable  poets,  and  their  names  were  connected  with 
two  of  the  three  '  regenerating  Eisteddfodau'  of  Wales.  In  the  con- 
fusion and  social  disorganisation  resulting  from  the  long  struggle 
for  Welsh  independence,  the  ancient  Welsh  metres  were  in  danger 
of  being  wholly  forgotten  throughout  North  Wales.  The  three  sons 
of  Griffith  ap  lorwerth  had  been  compelled  to  go  to  Glamorgan  as 
pupils  to  Llewelyn  ap  Gwilym  Emlyn  (who  was  then  at  the  court 
of  Ifor  Hael)  to  learn  the  mechanical  principles  of  their  art.  But 
it  was  through  the  three  great  'regenerating  Eisteddfodan'  that 
the  rules  of  vocal  song  became  again  the  common  property  of  the 
bards  of  Wales. 

''  The  first  of  these  three  Eisteddfodau  was  held  at  Maes  Aleg, 
under  the  patronage  of  Ifor  Hael.  The  second  was  held  at  Dol- 
goch,  in  Emlyn ;  and  here  Ednyfed  ap  Griffith,  one  of  our  three 
local  bards,  won  the  chair.  It  is  said  that  this  Ednyfed,  of  Sontley, 
was  actually  the  preceptor  of  the  famous  poet  lolo  Goch.  It  was 
probably  at  his  instance  that  the  third  of  the  three  great '  regenerat- 
ing Eisteddfodau'  came  to  be  held  in  the  parish  of  Marchwiel.  At 
this  famous  congress  of  the  bards,  held  under  the  patronage  of  Earl 
Mortimer  of  Chirk,  Ednyfed's  two  brothers  greatly  distinguished 


ARCH^OLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES.  261 

themselves.  Here  Llewelyn  Llogell  read  his  englynion  of  '  March- 
wiail  Bedw  Briglas'  (Saplings  of  the  Green- topped  Birches),  in  which 
the  name  of  the  parish  was  panningly  hit  off.  And  here  Madoc 
Benbras,  the  other  brother,  won  the  chair  and  birchen  wreath  for  a 
poem  to  a  lady, — a  poem  which  Dafydd  ap  Gwilym,  perhaps  the 
finest  poet  which  Wales  had  produced,  himself  praised. 

'*  Now,  as  I  have  said,  the  above  named  Madoc  and  Ednyfed  are 
repeatedly  mentioned  in  these  records  of  court.  In  one  case  they 
prosecnted  David  ap  Howel  for  trespass  and  for  cutting  twigs  upon 
their  land,  the  defendant  being  found  guilty,  and  fined  twelve  pence. 
In  another  case  the  lord  assigns  them  three  roods  of  land  in  Morton 
in  place  of  three  roods  of  their  own  land  wasted  in  iron  mining.  In 
a  third  case  Madoc  Benbras  is  defendant,  with  others,  in  a  plea  con- 
cerning agreement.  Finally,  this  same  Madoc  sues  Einion  ap  David 
for  one  meill  of  corn,  and  wins  his  case.  The  name  of  Llewelyn 
Llogell  does  not  occur  in  the  records ;  but  his  son,  David  ap  Llogell, 
appears  to  be  once  mentioned.  Griffith  ap  lorwerth,  the  father  of 
the  three  poet-s,  was  at  this  time  dead  ;  but  his  widow,  Gwenhwyfar 
ferch  Madoc,  was  still  living,  and  is  described  as  appearing  in  court 
and  acknowledging  hersolf  indebted  to  Stephen  of  the  Green  in  the 
sum  of  twenty-nine  shillings  and  two  pence. 

"  Madoc,  Vicar  of  Wrexham  (doubtless  Madoc  ap  Hwfa,  or  Madoc 
Athro),  is  twice  mentioned,  once  for '  brewing  contrary  to  the  assize 
of  ale*.  The  names  of  other  clergymen  also  occur :  Madoc  ap  Ithel, 
chaplain ;  Howel  ap  John,  chaplain ;  Howel  the  chaplain ;  and 
William  Francais,  or  William  the  Frenchman.  Then  we  have  Grono 
the  sexton,  and  Madoc  the  '  clochydd*  or  clerk. 

"There  were  not  then  many  trades  practised  in  this  district. 
Plenty  of  shoemakers,  smiths,  and  carpenters  are,  however,  men- 
tioned in  the  record.  The  name  of  a  man's  trade  or  calling  was 
generally  blended  with  his  personal  name,  so  as  to  yield  names  like 
the  following :  *  David  Of  (David  the  Smith),  *  lorwerth  Saer*  (lor- 
werth the  Carpenter),  'Madoc  Grydd*  (Madoc  the  Shoemaker), 
'leuan  Winwr  (leuan  the  Wine-Seller),  *  lorwerth  Feichiad'  (lor- 
werth the  Swineherd),  *  Hwfa  Feddyg'  (Hwfa  the  Physician). 

"  The  fines  or  amercements  mentioned  in  the  record  as  imposed 
for  offences,  were  generally  very  small,  and  there  are  only  two 
instances  recorded  of  persons  committed  to  gaol.  Nearly  every 
offence  was  purged  by  fine.  This  was  even  the  case  with  man- 
slaughter. Thus  Einion  ap  Bleddyn,  indicted  for  the  death  of  lor- 
werth the  Carpenter,  of  Brymbo,  paid  a  fine  of  six  shillings  and 
eight  pence  for  the  lord's  peace ;  and  Howel  ap  Hwfa  ap  Madoc, 
indicted  for  the  death  of  Alan  Bertar,  paid  a  fine  of  three  shillings 
and  four  pence.  The  fines  for  theft  were  gene  ally  much  higher. 
Thus  David  ap  lorwerth  Ddu,  indicted  in  that  he  stole  three  cattle 
worth  six  shillings,  of  Addaf  Goch,  had  to  pay  a  fine  of  twenty-six 
shillings  and  eight  pence. 

*•  *  Forestalling',  that  is  purchasing  articles  on  their  way  to  mar- 
ket, with  the  intention  of  selling  them  again  at  a  higher  price,  was 


262  ABCHiEOLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

regarded  as  a  serious  offenoe ;  and  Owilym  ap  Donjn,  for  forestall- 
ing yictnals  going  to  Fabrommi  was  fined  six  shillings. 

*'  In  conclasion,  two  other  cnrious  cases  may  be  mentioned.  In 
the  first,  Einion  ap  Bhirid,  one  of  the  raglot's  officers,  before  named, 
was  fined  for  unjustly  importing  cattle  into  the  ooantry,  on  account 
of  the  deficiency  of  bondsmen,  infringing  thus  a  regulation  which 
must  have  been  made  in  the  interest  of  the  bondsmen. 

"  In  the  other  case,  lorwerth  ap  Myfanwy  and  David  ap  lorwerth 
Ddu  were  attached  for  conferring  together  without  license,  and 
stealing  a  leek  from  the  garden  of  David  ap  Cadwgan  Fychan. 
Now  this  unlicensed  conference  associated  with  the  taking  of  a  leek 
(the  symbol  of  Welsh  nationality)  looks  rather  as  though  some- 
thing political,  something  that  might  be  taken  for  an  anti-English 
movement,  was  suspected. 

*'  I  have  by  no  means  exhausted,  in  the  foregoing  notice,  all  the 
points  of  interest  presented  by  the  record.  The  latter  contains, 
however,  a  great  deal  of  unimportant  detail,  and  the  thoughtless 
reader  will,  therefore,  no  doubt,  pronounce  the  whole  transcript  to 
be  of  little  value.  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  however,  that  to  the 
historian  records -like  this  are  priceless;  and  that  this  particular 
record  has  not  merely  thrown  a  flood  of  light  on  the  time  to  which 
it  relates,  but  has  actnally  cleared  up  pointo  of  present  day  interest 
which  have  hitherto  remained  obscure.  There  are  at  the  Record 
Office  boxes  full  of  other  ancient  documents  relating  to  this  district. 
Surely  there  are  those  who  would  gladly  contribute  to  have  the 
more  important  of  these  documente  transcribed.  The  transcripte, 
or  translations  of  them,  might  then  be  placed  in  our  Free  Library, 
and  so  made  accessible  to  all. 

"Alfred  Neobard  Palmer." 

Wrexham  Advertiser^  Jan.  21,  1888. 


Report  on  the  Excavations  in  the  Abbet  of  Strata  Florida. 
— Last  year  I  commeuced  to  excavate  the  site  of  the  Cistercian 
Abbey  of  Strata  Florida,  in  Cardiganshire,  and  I  read  a  paper 
thereon  at  the  Denbigh  Meeting  of  the  Cambrian  Archeeologi- 
cal  Association.  It  was  then  determined,  if  a  sufficient  fund  were 
subscribed,  to  continue  the  excavations,  and  clear  away  the  accu- 
mulated soil  and  rubbish  from  the  site,  and  store  on  the  spot 
the  mouldings  and  other  details  of  the  church  now  hidden,  with 
a  view  to  elucidate  the  style  and  period  of  the  building,  and 
preserve  its  remains,  under  the  care  of  a  local  committee,  for 
the  inspection  of  future  visitors.  A  fund  of  upwards  of  £90 
has  been  collected,  and,  though  not  sufficient  to  complete  the 
work,  the  estimated  cost  of  which  is  XI 50,  the  Committee  of  the 
Cambrian  ArchaBological  Association  determined  to  begin  the  ex- 
cavation under  my  superintendence.  The  works  are  now  in  pro- 
gress, having  been  commenced  on  the  24th  of  May  last,  and  a 
stafi'  of  twenty-two   men,  under  an  efficient  clerk   of  works,  is 


ARCH^OLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES.  263 

employed  in  clearing  away  the  accnmnlated  rubbish  and  dSbri*  of 
three  centuries  of  neglect  and  decay.  About  half  of  the  ha^e,  and 
the  north  and  south  aisles  have  been  cleared,  together  with  the 
whole  of  the  north  transept  and  its  three  eastern  chapels,  about 
half  of  the  presbytery,  and  the  exterior  of  the  north  transept,  the 
east  end  of  the  presbytery,  and  the  east  side  of  the  south  transept 
and  chapter-house,  disclosing  the  freestone  plinths  and  magnificent 
buttresses,  showing  that  the  entire  building  had  fine-dressed  free- 
stone quoins  throughout.  The  excavations,  so  far  as  they  have 
gone,  have  brought  to  light  a  most  valuable  series  of  architectural 
details,  in  no  way  inferior  to  those  in  any  of  our  finest  English 
cathedrals,  much  of  the  carved  work  resembling  in  its  character 
the  carving  at  Lincoln  Cathedral  and  at  St.  David's.  The  nave- 
arcades,  of  which  masses  have  been  found  lying  as  they  had  fallen 
outwards,  were  of  richly  moulded  pointed  arches  of  Early  Transi- 
tional work,  alternately  of  diffeisent  sections.  Already  three  dis- 
tinct sets  of  mouldings  have  been  discovered.  Fragments  of  carved 
capitals  have  been  found,  and  portions  of  the  moulded  bases  and 
shafts  of  the  piers.  The  respond  of  the  south  arcade  is,  fortu- 
nately, perfect  to  the  height  of  several  feet  above  the  base,  and  it 
is  hoped  that  some  portion  of  the  piers  close  to  the  central  tower 
are  still  standing  under  the  mass  of  fallen  rubbish  which  covers 
that  part  of  the  church.  In  the  north  transept  was  found  the 
great  north  door,  with  fragments  of  carved  mouldings  of  lily 
pattern,  exactly  the  same  as  in  the  north  doorway  of  St.  David's 
Cathedral.  The  three  eastern  chapels  of  the  north  transept  had 
clustered  piers,  with  pointed  arches  of  Early  Transitional  type, 
and  were  groined.  The  handsomely  carved  central  boss,  with  iron 
loop  for  suspending  the  lamp  in  front  of  the  altar,  has  been  found 
in  each  chapel,  together  with  the  bases  of  the  altars,  and  most 
beautiful  pavements  of  incised  and  encaustic  tiles  in  elaborate  and 
artistic  patterns.  Some  of  the  tiles  have  armorial  bearings  and 
desigpis,  with  the  dragon  of  Wales,  the  griffin,  the  arms  of 
Despencer,  and  one  plain  shield  with  a  chevron.  The  tile  pave- 
ments are  singularly  beautiful  in  design,  and  of  very  rich  glazing 
and  colouring.  Fragments  of  plaster  painted  in  fresco  have  been 
found,  with  fragments  of  stained  glass  windows,  and  much  of  the 
stonework  has  been  painted,  more  especially  in  the  chapels  and 
presbytery.  Externally,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  south  transept, 
have  been  found  a  series  of  monks'  graves,  some  of  which  have 
still  their  carved  head-stones  in  situ.  They  are  of  early  date,  with 
very  curious  interlaced  rope-work  patterns,  of  Celtic  type,  carved 
thereon.  The  graves  are  covered  with  rough  local  stone  slabs. 
The  first  one  found  had  a  cross  carved  on  it,  and  is  probably  the 
grave  of  the  first  abbot,  David,  who  died  in  1182,  when  the  Abbey 
was  being  built.  In  the  presbytery,  which  was  also  groined  like 
the  chapels,  masses  of  the  fallen  arches  have  been  found,  and 
underlying  them  a  large  quantity  of  the  jambs  of  the  great  east 
window,  which  was  of  peculiar  type,  much  resembling  the  east 


264  ARCH^OLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUEKIE& 

window  of  St.  David's  Cathedral,  which  was  built  by  Bishop  Peter 
de  Leia.  Instead,  howeyer,  of  the  lozenge  ornament,  as  at  St. 
David's,  this  has  a  circnlar  pattern,  of  pecnliarly  Norman  character, 
and  is  quite  unique  in  its  design.  The  ruins  of  the  great  central 
tower  still  remain  to  be  opened.  The  arches  have  fallen  to  a  great 
extent,  and  it  is  hoped  that  some  of  the  mouldings  may  be  found 
in  8itu  and  intact.  All  the  moulded  stone-work  and  carvings  are 
carefully  removed  as  the  work  proceeds  and  stacked  on  the  spot 
where  found,  and  an  immense  mass  of  most  interesting  architeo- 
tnral  details  is  being  accumulated.  Unfortunately,  the  funds  are 
being  rapidly  exhausted,  and  it  is  hoped  that  further  snbscriptiona 
may  be  obtained,  so  that  the  work  may  be  completed,  and  that 
measures  may  be  taken  to  secure  from  damage  the  exquisite  tile 
pavements,  together  with  what  is  left  of  the  building. 

It  is  proposed,  if  sufficient  funds  are  obtained,  to  cover  in  one  of 
the  chapels,  so  that  some  of  the  more  delicate  carved  work  and 
other  objects  of  interest  discovered  may  be  secured  from  damage  or 
loss.  Eventually  it  is  intended  to  hand  over  the  ruins  to  a  local 
committee,  who  will  take  charge  of  them.  A  small  fee  will  be 
asked  for  admission,  which,  with  the  funds  thus  raised,  will  be 
sufficient  to  maintain  them  in  good  order  and  repair. 

Subscriptions  in  aid  of  the  Excavation  Fund  will  be  received  by 
Mr.  B.  W.  Banks,  Ridgeboume,  Kington,  Herefordshire,  the 
Treasurer  of  the  Cambrian  Archeeologioal  Association.  A  collect- 
ing-box has  also  been  put  up  in  the  ruing,  and  the  clerk  of  the 
works,  Mr.  Telfer  Smith,  will  receive  and  account  to  the  Treasurer 
for  any  donations  visitors  may  place  therein  or  hand  to  him. 

Subscribers  to  the  Excavation  Fund  will  have  an  excellent  oppor- 
tunity of  visiting  Strata  Florida  and  inspecting  the  state  of  the 
work  immediately  after  the  meeting  of  the  Cambrian  Archsdological 
Association  at  Cowbridge,  commencing  on  Monday,  the  I3tib  of 
August,  as  it  is  proposed  that  a  party  shall  be  formed  for  thia 
purpose,  leaving  Cowbridge  on  Saturday,  the  18th.  Sunday  will 
be  spent  at  Strata  Florida,  and  the  excavations  formally  explained 
on  the  Monday. 

Stephen  W.  Williams. 


The  Mystery  Plays  at  Morlaix. — "A  correspondent  of  the 
Daily  NewSy  who  witnessed  the  mystery  play  of  *  St.  Tryphine', 
which  has  just  been  performed  at  Morlaix,  in  Brittany,  gives  some 
account  of  the  doings.  The  play  was  acted  in  the  old  theatre  by  a 
company  from  Plouaret.  The  leading  actor,  Menguy,  an  authority 
on  the  Celtic  melodrama,  played  the  part  of  Kervoura,  who,  by  hia 
ambition  to  make  himself  King  of  Britain,  was  the  cause  of  all  the 
misfortunes  of  his  sister  Tryphine,  wife  of  King  Arthur.  Nothing 
more  curious  and  rudimentary  can  be  conceived  than  some  of  the 
stage  effects.  A  good  deal  was  left  to  the  imagination  of  the  spec- 
tators, and  archsdological  truth  was  not  in  all  instances  respected. 
For  instance,  the  King  of  England  appears  guarded  by  soldiers  of 


AKCHifiOLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES.  265 

the  148th  Line  Regitnent.  The  barharons  grossness  of  the  mys- 
teries which  used  to  be  played  in  churches  in  former  times  was  not 
ezpnrgated.  A  popular  Celtic  song,  by  masons  building  a  castle, 
was  one  of  the  taking  curiosities  of  the  piece,  the  representation  of 
which  was  extended  over  two  days.  M.  Luzel,  the  archivist  of 
Qaimper,  and  one  of  the  last  of  the  Breton  bards,  wrote  the  pro- 
logue, which  was  a  great  success,  in  spite  of  the  religions  sceptic- 
ism of  the  house  and  its  historical  ignorance.  There  was  much 
laughter  at  the  passages  showing  the  childish  simplicity  of  religions 
faith  of  the  author  of  the  mystery.  The  banquet  given  at  the 
town  hall  after  the  mystery  plays  were  over  was  rich  in  local 
colour.  Everything  was  as  much  as  possible  a  revival  of  the  time 
of  Queen  Anne.  The  tables  were  served  by  peasant  men  and 
women  from  Qnimper,  Pontaven,  Pontlabb^,  and  other  primitive 
places,  wearing  the  local  costumes.  MM.  de  Bomier,  Luzel, 
Zaccone,  the  novelist  and  playwright,  who  is  a  Morlaix  man,  and 
the  company  of  the  Th^itre  Fran9ai8,  were  at  the  banquet.  Drafts- 
men of  the  illustrated  journals  from  all  parts  also  attended,  and 
many  artists  from  Paris,  who  were  busy  sketching  in  their  note- 
books. One  of  the  toasts  given  was  '  Legendary  Brittany,  and 
long  may  she  retain  her  picturesque  customs.'  In  the  evening 
there  was  a  ball  in  the  market-place,  at  which  the  dances  of  the 
country  were  performed  to  the  music  of  bagpipes.  The  ball-room 
was  nnder  the  arches  of  the  Viaduct.  The  theatrical  company 
from  Plouaret  led  the  figure-dances,  which  were  local.  There  was 
plenty  of  life  and  mettle  in  the  heels  of  the  dancers,  and,  as  nearly 
every  one  who  was  not  from  Paris  had  drunk  freely,  without,  how- 
ever, drinking  too  deep,  the  company  was  in  a  right  joyous  mood. 
Many  of  the  dances  were  photographed  while  being  performed. 
The  Parisians  have  made  an  excursion  to  St.  Pol  de  L6on,  to  see 
the  open-work  stone  belfry  described  by  Pierre  de  Lotti,  and  snug 
of  by  Louisa  Puget.  M.  de  Bornier  and  M.  Mounet-Sully  climbed 
to  the  top.  They  also  went  to  visit  the  famous  Boscoff  fig-tree, 
the  branches  of  which  have  taken  root  in  the  ground  like  those  of 
an  Indian  banyan  and  sent  up  other  trunks.  M.  de  Bomier  has 
told  us  that  he  will  adapt  the  Mystery  of  St.  Tryphine  for  the 
Fran^ais,  and  will  preserve  its  picturesque  character,  and,  so  far  as 
possible,  its  naivete" — St.  Jamee'a  Oazette,  April  17th,  1888. 


Oboanisation  of  Local  ABCHiEOLOOiCAL  Research. — The  follow- 
ing letter  has  been  addressed  to  the  Editor  of  the  Archosological 
Review  (April  1888)  :— 

*'Sir, — Last  summer,  in  conversation  with  one  or  two  friends 
who  were,  like  myself,  much  interested  in  provincial  archasology, 
and  much  vexed  at  the  desultory,  unsystematic,  and  overlapping 
character  of  much  that  is  attempted  both  in  investigation  and 
publication  by  our  connty  societies,  I  proposed  that  the  Society  of 
Antiquaries  should  be  invited  to  call  us  together  in  conference. 


266  ARCHJ50L0GICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

The  idea  was  favonrably  received.  From  several  conntj  arcbtto- 
logists,  of  far  greater  repate  and  experience  than  myself,  to  whom 
I  ventured  to  make  a  like  proposition  in  writing,  an  equally  sym- 
pathetic response  was  obtained.  It  was  proposed  to  address  a 
respectful  joint  request^  to  the  President  and  Council  of  the  parent 
Society,  that  it  would  please  them  to  summon  such  a  gathering. 
For  reasons  that  need  not  here  be  specified  it  was  decided  to  defer 
prosecuting  this  plan  till  the  current  year. 

**  It  was,  tberefore,  with  peculiar  pleasure  that  I  read  in  the  first 
issue  of  the  ArchcBological  Review  a  like  idea  elaborated  and  excel- 
lently expressed  in  the  opening  'Editorial  Note'.  We  all  want 
more  direction  and  system  in  our  archasological  researches.  I  can- 
not conceive  that  aught  but  good  could  accrue  from  a  general 
conference  under  the  auspices  and  authority  of  the  Society  of 
Antiquaries.  I  should  not  propose,  in  any  joint  petition,  to  dic- 
tate to  the  Society  in  any  way  the  details  of  such  a  conference,  or 
how  representatives  of  the  different  societies,  or  individuals  un- 
connected with  any  special  organisation,  should  be  invited  ;  but  if 
the  idea  commended  itself  to  the  President  and  Goancil,  I  am  sure 
they  are  to  be  fully  trusted  to  carry  it  to  a  wise  conclusion. 

*^Your  own  way  of  arguing  the  necessity  for  the  joint  and 
systematic  action  of  antiquaries  leaves  hardly  anything  more  to  be 
said ;  but  I  may  point  out  how,  in  the  department  of  ecclesiology, 
in  which  I  am  primarily  interested,  such  united  and  methodical 
action  on  matters  like  bells  and  church  plate,  if  adopted  but  a  few 
years  ago,  would  have  saved  us  from  some  poorly  done  work,  and 
improved  materially  all  that  has  been  accomplished.  Specialists, 
too,  like  Professor  Browne  and  Mr.  Bomilly  Allen,  in  early  scul- 
tured  stones,  or  Baron  de  Gosson  and  Mr.  Hartshome,  in  efi&gies, 
would  find  their  work  rendered  so  much  easier  of  satisfactory 
accomplishment,  by  the  compilation  of  careful  catalogues  through- 
out our  English  slures. 

''  Fired  many  years  ago  by  the  first  edition  of  Canon  Isaac 
Taylor's  inimitable  Words  and  Places^  1  endeavoured  to  collect  all 
the  field -names  of  my  own  comparatively  small  county  of  Derby, 
but  was  fedrly  baffled  and  beaten  by  expense  and  difficulties,  after 
a  little  more  than  half  the  work  was  accomplished.  I  then,  however, 
learnt  enough  to  tell  me  that  if  this  branch  of  local  etymology  was 
thoroughly  and  consistently  followed  out  throughout  England-— 
each  county  society  collecting  its  own  field-names,  and  having  them 
entered  on  the  large  Ordnance  Survey  maps,  with  duplicates  of  the 
whole  deposited  in  the  Library  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries — a 
wonderful  flood  of  light  would  be  cast  for  intelligent  eyes  on  the 
early  colonisation  of  our  land,  on  its  development,  progressive  trade 
and  successive  resources,  as  well  as  on  general  folk-lore,  and  many 

^  A  petition  of  the  kind  suggested,  signed  by  a  large  number  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  councils  of  the  various  local  archssological  societies  has  already 
been  presented  to  the  President  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries. 


*  \ 


ARCH^OLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES.  267 

kindred  subjects,  such  as  could  never  be  gleaned  by  the  closest 
study  of  the  mere  names  of  towns  or  hamlete. 

^'  For  these  reasons,  and  for  many  yet  more  important,  so  well 
marshalled  by  yourself  in  the  March  issue  of  the  ArchcBologieal 
Review,  it  is  earnestly  to  be  hoped  that  common  action  in  the  cause 
of  historic,  as  well  as  of  pre-historic,  archadology  will  soon  be 
taken;  and,  as  the  best  preliminary  to  such  a  course,  allow  me  to 
strongly  urge  a  general  call  upon  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  in  the 
direction  indicated.  I  think  such  a  request  should  be  made  before 
the  close  of  the  summer  session  (June),  so  that  a  conference  might 
be  summoned,  if  deemed  advisable,  in  the  ensuing  autumn  or 
winter. 

''  As  I  have  already  some  names,  perhaps  you  will  allow  me  to 
say  that  I  shall  be  glad  to  receive  others,  and  I  hope  that  you,  Sir, 
will  do  the  same;  or  I  shall  be  equally  pleased  to  send  my  name, 
with  those  I  have  obtained,  to  any  one  else,  or  to  any  committee  that 
may  be  formed  for  a  like  object. 

'•J.  Charles  Cox,  LL.D.,  F.S.A. 

"  Barton-Ie-Street  Rectory,  Malton.'* 


Amphftheatbe  at  Token  t  Mub,  Merionethshire. — Castell  Tomen 
y  Mur  is  situated  in  the  north-west  of  Merionethshire,  a  mile 
south-east  of  Maentwrog  Road  Station,  on  the  Bala  and  Festiniog 
Railway  (Ordnance  Map,  one  inch  to  the  mile,  sheet  No.  75,  N.E.). 
The  remains  at  this  place  consist  of  a  Roman  station,  which  has 
been  identified  with  the  Heriri  Mons«  mentioned  in  the  Second 
Iter  of  Richard  of  Cirencester,  from  Caernarvon  to  Wroxeter,  and 
the  amphitheatre  here  illustrated.  Tomen  y  Mur  has  been  visited 
by  the  Cambrian  Archseological  Association  on  three  difierent 
occasions,  during  the  meetings  held  at  Dolgelly  in  1850,  at  Portmadoc 
in  1868,  and  at  Bala  in  1884.  Upon  the  last  occasion  Mr.  Worth- 
ington  G.  Smith  made  the  drawing  of  the  amphitheatre  now 
published.  The  antiquities  of  Tomen  y  Mur  have  been  described 
by  our  late  lamented  Mend  the  Rev.  E.  L.  Barnwell  in  the  Archceo- 
logia  Oambrengis  (vol.  ii,  4th  Series,  p.  190),  and  by  Mr.  J.  W. 
Grover  in  the  Journal  of  the  British  Archceological  Association  (vol. 
xxvii,  p.  277).  The  seven  Roman  inscribed  stones  found  here  are 
engraved  in  Prof.  "West wood's  Lapidarium  Wallice  (pis.  74,  78, 
and  79).  They  have  been  removed  to  Plas  Tan-y-Bwlch,  near 
Maentwrog,  and  built  into  the  terrace  wall.  Excavations  made  on 
the  site  of  the  station  have  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  masonry 
walls  of  Roman  workmanship,  pottery,  coins,  tiles,  querns,  a  stone 
hammer,  and  a  red  camelian  intaglio  representing  Mercury,  now  in 
the  possession  of  Mr.  Coulson  of  Corsygedol.  Two  Roman  roads 
cross  each  other  at  Tomen  y  Mur,  one  from  Conwy  to  Caer- 
marthen,  and  the  other  from  Caernarvon  to  Wroxeter,  thus  making 
the  station  of  great  strategical  importance.  The  amphitheatre  is  a 
circular  earthwork,  81  ft.  in  diameter  inside,  and  surrounded  by  a 
.5th  ser.,  vol.  v.  ]9 


268  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

monnd  21  ft.  wide  and  10  to  12  ft.  high.  It  was  prohahly  nsed  for 
the  gladiatorial  exhibitions  to  which  the  Romans  were  so  mucli 
addicted.  Other  amphitheatres  occnr  in  connection  with  Roman 
stations  at  Colchester,  Silchester,  Dorchester,  Cirencester,  Bich- 
borongh,  and  Caerleon.^  J.  Bomillt  Allen. 


Place  House,  Swansea. — There  is  a  brief  notice  of  "Place 
Honse",  aZi'a*  the  "Manor  Honse",in  the  Life  of  Sir  Matthew  Cradoch^ 
published  by  the  Bev.  J.  Montgomery  Traherne,  F.R.S.  In  a  scarce 
book,  called  Oontributions  towards  a  History  of  Swansea,  by  Lewis 
L.  Dillwyn,  Esq.,  F.R.S.,  there  is  a  record  of  the  demolition  of  the 
old  honse,  together  with  an  interesting  discovery  of  a  number  of 
silver  coins  in  some  part  of  the  building.  The  record  is  as  follows: 
"  1840,  April  9.  On  this  day,  while  the  workmen  were  engaged  in 
pulling  down  the  venerable  ruins  of  the  old  Manor  House,  pre- 
paratory for  building  the  south  side  of  Temple  Street,  a  vessel  con- 
taining a  large  number  of  silver  pennies  was  found,  and  a  full 
account  of  the  discovery  and  particulars  of  the  coins,  by  Mr.  G.  G. 
Francis,  will  appear  at  page  83  of  the  Appendix  to  the  fifth 
Annual  Report  of  the  Royal  Institution,  which  is  now  in  the 
press.  Mr.  Francis  informs  me  that,  of  166  of  these  sterlings  or 
pennies  which  he  examined,  154  are  of  the  reign  of  Edward  the 
First  or  Second,  4  of  Alexander  the  Third  of  Scotland,  4  of 
Flanders  of  the  same  period,  and  3  illegible.  Some  of  the  rarer 
types  have  been  presented  to  the  Museum  by  Mr.  Francis." 

The  cork  model  of  Place  House  was  made  by  the  late  Colonel 
Evan  Morgan^  B.A.,  of  St.  Helen's,  Swansea.  The  engraving  is 
from  a  drawing  made  by  Mr.  Worthington  G.  Smith  at  the  Swan- 
sea Meeting  in  1886,  and  the  block  was  presented  to  the  Cambrian 
ArchiBological  Association  by  the  late  Bcv.  E.  L.  Barnwell. 

J.  D.  Davies,  Llanmadoc 


YspTTTT  Evan,  Caernaevonshire. — The  village  of  Yspytty  Evan 
is  situated  on  the  river  Conwy,  which  separates  Denbighshire  from 
Caernarvonshire,  about  six  miles  south  of  Bettws  y  Coed,  just  on 
the  border  between  the  two  counties.  It  was  visited  by  the  Cam- 
brian ArchiBological  Association  at  the  Llanrwst  Meeting  in  1882. 
In  the  Archceologia  Camhrensis  (vol.  vi.  Series  III,  p.  105)  will  be 
found  a  paper  by  "  J.  E."  on  "Yspytty  Ifan,  or  the  Hospitallers  in 
Wales",  from  which  the  following  particulars  are  taken. 

The  name  Yspytty  Ifan  (Hospitium  Sancti  Johannis)  is  derived 
from  a  hospice  belonging  to  the  Knights  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem, 
which  formerly  existed  in  this  place.  Yspytty  Evan  was  anciently 
called  Spitty  Dolgenwall ;  and  in  the  reign  of  Henry  II,  Llywelyn 
ap  lorwerth.  Prince  of  Aber  and  Lord  of  Snowdon,  bestowed  lands 
on  the  Knights  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem  by  the  description  of  the 

1  See  Thomas  Wright's  The  Celt,  the  Roman,  and  the  Saxon,  p.  176. 


ARCH^OLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES.  269 

House  of  tbe  Knigbts  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem  at  Dolgenwall. 
The  hospitallers  are  mentioned  as  holding  property  at  Dolgenwall 
in  the  taxation  of  the  ecclesiastical  possessions  in  England  and 
Wales,  made  in  19  Edward  I,  a.d.  1291.  Among  the  archives  of 
the  Knights  of  St.  John,  in  the  Library  at  Malta,  was  found  an 
account  of  the  estates  of  the  Order  in  England,  naming  amongst 
others  that  of  Yspytty,  and  giving  the  annual  expenditure  in  bread, 
beer,  meat,  wages  of  the  bailiffs,  officers,  etc.  The  tenants  of  this 
establishment  are  represented  as  a  contumacious  set  of  men,  and 
refasing  to  pay  their  rents.  The  hospital  was  dissolved  in  the  thirty- 
second  year  of  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII. 

This  place  possessed  the  right  of  sanctuary  and  other  privileges, 
in  consequence  of  which  it  appears  to  have  become  a  sort  of  Alsatia, 
where  murderers  and  other  bad  characters  sought  refuge.  The 
hospice  was  situated  to  the  west  of  the  church,  but  all  remains  of  it 
have  now  disappeared. 


Plas  Ioltn,  Denbiqhshibe. — Plas  lolyn  is  situated  a  mile  south- 
east of  Pentre  Yoelas,  in  Denbighshire,  and  was  also  visited  during 
the  Llanrwst  Meeting.  It  is  described  as  follows  in  the  paper  on 
Yspytty  Ifan  just  referred  to  : — 

"  In  the  township  of  Trebrys  is  Plas  lolyn,  once  the  famous  resi- 
dence of  an  honourable  and  powerful  family,  from  which  the  most 
respectable  houses  in  these  parts  have  traced  their  descent.  The 
hereditary  name,  Ap  Rhys,  is  preserved  in  the  names  of  Tre  Brys, 
Carn  Brys,  Bryn  Brys,  Hendre  Brys,  all  in  the  same  township ; 
besides  the  lineal  descendants  who  still  bear  the  name,  among  whom 
are  the  venerable  proprietor  of  Rhiwlas,  and  Sir  Robert  Price  of 
Foxley. 

"Plas  lolyn  is  now  a  large  farmhouse,  standing  conspicuously 
on  an  eminence  in  front  of  Pentre  Yoelas.  Some  portions  of  the 
strong  masonry  of  the  old  mansion  still  remain,  together  with  a 
square  tower,  the  cellar  of  which  is  excavated  in  the  rook  ;  but  ex- 
cept these  there  are  no  vestiges  of  former  greatness. 

"  The  most  distinguished  member  of  this  ancient  line  was  Rhys 
fawr  ap  Meredith  of  Hiraitbog.  He  led  the  Welsh  Highlanders 
("  Gwyr  y  wlad  Uchaf")  at  Bosworth,  a.d.  1485.  He  was  a  man 
of  great  stature,  as  his  name  signifies,  and  to  him,  when  Sir  William 
Brandon  was  prostrated  by  King  Richard,  was  entrusted  the  British 
standard  of  the  Rouge  Dragon.  He  left  four  sons,  progenitors, 
among  others,  of  the  neighbouring  houses  of  Yoelas,  Rhiwlas,  Pant- 
glas,  Gilar,  and  Cerniogau;  and  six  daughters,  whose  names  and 
maiTiages  are  enumerated  in  Davies*  Display  of  Heraldry^  printed 
in  1616." 

Mr.  Howel  W.  Lloyd  informs  me  that  Mr.  Worthington  G.  Smith's 
engraving  was  made  at  the  Llanrwst  Meeting  with  the  intention  of 
illustrating  a  paper  on  the  law  proceedings  relating  to  a  family 
descended  from  Marchweithian,  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth. 


270  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

Mr.  Lloyd,  says :  "  I  imagine  the  house  was  bnilt  by  Howel  ap 
Cynwrig,  who  gavelled  his  lands  with  his  brother,  Heilyn  Vrych  of 
Carwedd  Vynydd  and  Berain :  hence  the  saying,  '  Gystal  Howel  a 
Heilyn'  (Howel  is  as  good  a  man  as  Heilyn)." 

For  farther  information  on  this  subject,  Mr.  Lloyd  refers  us  to 
the  History  of  Povn/s  Vadog,  vol.  iv,  "  Pryse  of  Plas  lolyn";  vol.  v, 
"  Wynn  of  Dyffryn  Aled";  and  vol.  vi,  "  Voelas  and  Rhiwlas".  We 
shall  look  forward  to  a  paper  by  Mr.  Lloyd  on  Plas  lolyn  at  no  dis- 
tant date. 

J.  RoMiLLY  Allen, 


A  Celtic  Weather  Saint. — Most  countries  possess  their  special 
weather  saint,  whose  festival,  according  as  it  is  dry  or  wet,  decides 
the  meteorological  character  of  the  following  forty  days.  St. 
Swithin  has  now  so  long  reigned  supreme  as  the  weather  saint  of 
Great  Britain,  that  it  would,  perhaps,  be  vain  to  denounce  him  as 
the  Saxon  usurper  of  the  rights  of  a  Celtic  weather  sainfc,  who  pre- 
sided over  the  rainfall  of  our  country  as  far  back  as  the  time  of 
King  Arthur.  Nevertheless,  it  seems  probable  that  the  honour- 
able distinction  of  weather  saint  belongs  rather  to  the  Celtic  *'  St. 
Cewydd  of  the  Bain"  than  to  the  Saxon  bishop  of  comparatively 
modern  times. 

St.  Cewydd  was  one  of  a  remarkable  family,  being  the  son  of 
Caw,  lord  of  Cwm  Cawlwyd  or  Cowllwg,  who,  according  to  Achau  y 
Saint,  was  "deprived  of  his  territories  by  the  Gwyddyl  Ffichti,  or,  as 
the  general  term  may  be  interpreted,  by  the  Picts  and  Scots;  in  con- 
sequence of  which  he  and  his  numerous  family  retired  to  Wales.  He 
settled  at  Twrcelyn,  in  Anglesey,  where  lands  were  bestowed  upon 
him  by  Maelgwn  Gwynedd;  and  it  is  also  said  that  lands  were 
granted  to  some  of  his  children  by  Arthur  in  Siluria'*.*  Most  of 
them  distinguished  themselves  in  one  way  or  another,  and  founded 
churches,  of  which  they  became  the  patron  saints.  St.  Cewydd's 
eldest  brother,  Hy wel,  was  killed  in  a  civil  war  by  King  Arthur ;  his 
brother  Aneurin,  otherwise  known  as  Gildas,  became  the  most  cele- 
brated scholar  of  the  day;  another  brother,  Aeddan,  was  first  Bishop 
of  Ferns ;  while  his  sister,  Cwyllog,  was  married  to  King  Arthur's 
nephew,  the  traitor  Modred.  Unfortunately,  we  know  but  little  of 
the  history  of  St.  Cewydd  himself,  beyond  the  fact  that  he  founded 
churches  at  Diserth,  Aberedwy,  in  Radnorshire,  and  at  Llan- 
gewydd,  in  Glamorganshire.  Local  nomenclature,  however,  would 
lead  us  to  suppose  that  he  lived  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Diserth, 
for  a  farm  in  Llanfihangel  Bryn  Pabuan  is  still  called  Cil  gewydd, 
i.e.,  the  Cell  of  Cewydd,  while  a  mountain- track  above  Llandeilo 
Graban,  once  trodden  by  the  feet  of  the  saint,  perhaps,  as  he 
journeyed  over  the  hills  to  visit  his  brother  Maelog  at  his  monas- 
tery of  Liowes,  yet  bears  the  name  of  Rhiw  Gewydd,  t.e,,  Cewydd's 
HilL     But  no  tradition  remains  to  tell  us  how  the  saint  won  his 

1  See  Rees'  Bssat/  on  the  Welsh  Saints^  p.  224. 


ARCH^OLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES.  271 

title  of  "Cewjdd  of  the  Bain",  as  he  is  called  in  old  Welsh 
writings,  and  we  are  indebted  to  Lewis  Glyn  Gothi  for  our  know- 
ledge of  the  popular  superstition  which  connected  the  rainfall  with 
the  festiyal  oi  the  saint.  In  a  poem,  or  rather  an  elegy,  written  by 
him  on  the  death  of  Morgan,  son  of  Sir  David  Gam,  he  compares 
the  teal's  shed  over  the  departed  hero  to  the  forty  days'  rain  which 
fell  after  St.  Cewydd's  festival : 

"  Qwlad  Yrychan  am  Yorgan  Tydd 
Ail  i  gawod  wyl  Qewydd. 
Deugain  niau  davnau  dwvr 
Ar  ruddiau  yw*r  aweddwvr. 
Deugain  mlynedd  i  heddyw 
Yr  wyl  y  beirdd  ar  ol  y  byw." 

The  said  festival  took  place  on  July  1,  0.  S. ;  therefore,  allowing 
for  the  difference  between  Old  and  New  Style,  it  now  occurs  on 
July  13,  two  days  before  St.  Swithin's.  Until  quite  lately,  a  feast 
or  wake  was  held  in  Aberedwy  pariah  the  second  week  in  July  in 
honour  of  Saint  Gewydd.  That  the  popular  belief  in  Sfc.  Gewydd's 
power  over  the  weather  was  not  confined  to  the  YTelsh  portion  of 
Great  Britain  is  proved  by  an  old  English  proverb,  which,  altogether 
Ignoring  St.  Swithin's  claims,  says : 

"  If  the  first  of  July  be  rainy  weather, 
'T  will  rain  more  or  less  for  a  month  together." 

M.  L.  Dawson. 

Ghubch  Restoration. — At  a  Gouncil  meeting  of  the  Society  of 
Antiquaries  of  London,  held  on  Wednesday,  the  22nd  of  February, 
1888,  the  President  in  the  chair,  it  was  resolved  that  the  following 
memorandum,  as  drawn  up  by  a  special  committee  and  approved 
by  the  Gouncil,  be  read  to  the  Society  at  its  next  meeting,  and  be 
communicated  to  the  archbishops,  bishops,  and  chancellors  of  dio- 
ceses, deans,  archdeacons,  and  rural  deans  of  the  Ghurch  of  Eng- 
land. 

The  destruction  of  ancient  monuments  and  of  interesting  archi- 
tectural remains  by  the  process  of  modern  church  restoration  is 
constantly  being  brought  under  the  notice  of  the  Society  of  Anti- 
quaries of  London.  Although,  unfortunately,  so  much  irretriev- 
able mischief  has  been  done  that  remonstrance  may  appear  too 
late,  the  Society  is  desirous  of  again  calling  the  attention  of  those 
having  authority  in  the  Ghurch  to  the  needless  destruction  of 
relics  of  the  past  which  has  taken  place  and  is  still  proceeding, 
and  of  enlisting,  if  possible,  their  sympathy  and  assistance  in 
checking  what  all  must  acknowledge  to  be  an  evil. 

It  is  constantly  the  case  that  on  visiting  a  "  restored"  church  it 
is  found  that  monuments  and  painted  glass,  of  which  the  existence 
is  recorded  in  county  histories,  have  not  only  been  removed  from 
their  original  positions,  but  are  no  longer  forthcoming;  that 
inscribed  slabs  from  tombs  have  been  used  to  bridge  over  gutters 


272  ARCHAEOLOGICAL   NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

or  to  receive  hot-air  gratings,  or  have  been  covered  with  tiles; 
that  the  ancient  fonts  have  been  removed,  the  old  communion 
tables  destroyed,  the  Jacobean  oak  pulpits  broken  ap  or  mounted 
on  stone  pedestals,  and  not  unfrequently  the  old  and  curious  com- 
munion plate  sold.  The  architectural  features  and  proportions  of 
the  churches  have  in  innumerable  instances  been  modified,  especially 
so  far  as  regards  the  east  windows,  and  the  character  of  the 
chancels  generally. 

The  Society  cannot  too  strongly  insist  on  the  great  historical 
value  of  our  ancient  parish  churches,  every  one  of  which  contains 
in  its  fabric  the  epitome  of  the  history  of  the  parish,  frequently 
extending  over  many  centuries.  What  would  appear  to  the  Society 
to  be  the  duty  of  the  guardians  of  these  national  monuments  is,  not 
to  "restore"  them,  but  to  preserve  them — not  to  pretend  to  put  a 
church  back  into  the  state  in  which  it  may  be  supposed  to  have 
been  at  any  given  epoch,  but  to  preserve,  so  far  as  practicable,  the 
record  of  what  has  been  its  state  during  all  the  period  of  its 
history. 

The  Society  does  not  overlook  the  necessity  of  adapting  the 
buildings  to  the  wants  of  the  present  day ;  but  it  contends  that  the 
greatest  part  of  the  mischief  that  has  been  done  to  our  churches 
has  not  added  to  the  convenience  of  the  buildings,  which  is  in  no 
way  aided  by  destroying  the  more  recent  portions  of  a  church  and 
rebuilding  them  in  a  styld  which  imitates  the  older  portions,  nor  by 
the  destruction  of  furniture  and  monuments  only  because  they  are 
not  of  the  date  which  is  assumed  to  be  that  of  the  cburch.  New 
work  done  to  suit  new  wants,  and  not  pretending  to  be  other  than 
it  is,  will  carry  on  the  history  of  the  building  in  the  same  manner 
as  did  the  old,  and  the  Society  has  no  wish  to  prevent  that  from 
being  done.  It  only  urges  that  the  ancient  record  should  not  be 
wiped  out  to  make  room  for  the  new,  nor  falsified  by  making  the 
new  a  servile  imitation  of  the  old.  Uniformity  of  style  was  very 
rarely  a  characteristic  of  our  old  churches,  and  a  part  of  the  build- 
ing or  a  piece  of  furniture  in  it  is  to  be  judged,  not  by  its  conformity 
to  this  or  that  style,  but  by  its  fitness  for  its  place  and  for  the  work 
it  has  to  do. 

It  is  feared  that  the  use  of  the  word  restoration  has  itself  been 
the  cause  of  much  mischief,  and  has  made  men  think  that  the 
destruction  of  the  later  features  of  a  building  is  a  gain  by  itself; 
and  the  Society  therefore  urges  that  these  later  features  are  just  as 
important  in  the  history  of  the  building  as  the  older,  for  it  is  by 
them  that  its  continuous  history  is  recorded.  To  replace  them  by 
modeni  imitations  of  the  earlier  work  not  only  destroys  so  much  of 
the  record,  but  discredits  what  is  allowed  to  remain  by  confusing 
it  with  that  which  is  not  what  it  professes  to  be.  Now  that  so 
much  importance  is  attached  to  the  continuity  of  the  Church 
from  the  earliest  times,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  nothing  will 
bring  this  home  to  men*8  minds  so  much  as  the  visible  evidence  of 
it  in  the  buildings  in  which  they  habitually  worship. 


ARCH-fflOLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES.  273 

The  Society  is  aware  that  in  the  majority  of  iustanoes  no  facalty 
is  granted  for  the  restoration  of  a  chnrch,  so  that  this  legal  check 
npon  the  destrnction  of  ancient  remains  has  been  practically  re- 
leased. It  is  mach  to  be  regretted  that  this  should  have  been  the 
case,  as  the  application  for  a  faculty  would  at  all  events  give  an 
opportunity  for  the  authorities  to  insist  npon  no  destruction  of 
ancient  work  taking  place  without  due  inquiry,  nor  without  the 
-written  consent  of  the  bishop.  If  it  be  urged  that  faculties  are  too 
costly,  some  means  may  probably  be  devised  for  lessening  their 
expense  and  at  the  same  time  increasing  the  observance  of  the  law 
under  which  they  are  necessary. 

Under  any  circumstances,  the  Society  hopes  that  all  possible  moral 
influence  will  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  preservation  of  all  objects 
and  features  of  historical  or  archeBological  interest  in  our  sacred 
edifices. 

The  Society,  in  conclusion,  would  venture  to  suggest  the  pro- 
priety of  impressing  upon  incumbents  and  churchwardens  that  the 
sale  of  communion  plate  without  a  &culty  is  illegal.  The  issue  of 
such  faculties  would  of  course  be  carefully  guarded,  and  in  some 
cases  it  might  be  desirable  to  allow  of  the  sale  of  ancient  plate  no 
longer  available  for  use  to  public  museums  or  depositories  where  it 
would  be  carefully  and  reverently  preserved. 


Contemplated  Restoration  op  Llanelidan  Church,  near  Rdthin. 
— The  Rev.  T.  Prichard,  Rector  of  the  parish,  has  taken  prelimi- 
nary steps  towards  restoring  this  church,  and  it  is  greatly  to  be 
hoped  that  the  restoration  will  not  be  a  destruction  of  all  its  present 
features.  Several  portions  of  the  old  screen  are  still  in  the  church, 
and  these  could  be  worked  up  in  a  new  screen.  It  would  be  well 
to  preserve  copies  of  all  monumental  slabs  on  the  floors,  and  also  to 
take  a  plan  of  the  present  internal  arrangement  of  the  church,  with 
a  copy  of  all  inscriptions  on  the  doors  of  the  seats.  A  plan  of  this 
kind  would  not  be  without  value  in  years  to  come,  as  it  would  show 
what  now  exists,  and  it  would  also  tell  us  something  about  the 
families  in  the  neighbourhood. 

Elias  Owen, 

Efenechtyd.  Local  Secretary  for  Denbighshire. 


The  Restoration  op  the  Cardiff  North  Gate. — **  Quietly,  and 
without  ostentation,  the  work  of  preparing  for  the  re-erection  of  the 
old  North  Gate  of  Cardiff"  (plans  for  which  were  laid  before  the 
Cardiff^  Town  Council  some  months  ago)  has  been  going  on,  and 
already  gangs  of  men  have  begun  to  lay  the  foundations.  An  im- 
mense trench,  some  60  feet  long  by  20  ft.  wide,  and  30  feet  deep, 
has  been  dug,  an  engine,  centrifugal  pump,  and  steam  crane  having 
been  employed.  This  trench  has  been  filled  to  within  some  15  feet 
of  the  surface  of  the  roadway  with  strong  concreting,  as  a  founda- 
tion for  one  side  of  the  arched  gateway  which  is  to  span  the  road. 


274  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

In  the  course  of  excavation  a  most  interesting  discoyeiy  was  made, 
nothing  less  than  a  large  and  well  preserved  portion  of  what  an- 
donbtedly  is  the  old  Oastle  wall,  with  one  of  the  bastions  of  the  old 
gateway.  Abont  40  yards  of  this,  with  the  bastion,  has  been  laid 
bare,  and  seems  to  be  in  splendid  preservation.  Viewed  as  it  now 
stands,  it  is  a  most  interesting  sight.  Above  it  is  the  wall  of  the 
present  Castle,  which,  it  will  be  remembered,  crowned  a  high  bank 
upon  which  trees,  certainly  the  growth  of  some  hundred  years, 
stood  up  to  the  commencement  of  the  work.  *Then  come  some  6  or 
7  feet  of  solid  earth  resting  right  upon  the  old  wall  Several  com- 
petent architectural  authorities  who  have  seen  it  say  that  it  is  part 
of  the  old  Norman  Castle  wall  of  about  the  twelfth  century ;  but 
Mr.  G.  Clark  of  Dowlais,  than  whom,  perhaps,  no  better  authority 
on  Glamorganshire  castles  exists,  is  of  opinion  that  it  is  of  date 
anterior  to  that,  and  of  Roman  construction.  We  understand  that 
Mr.  Frame,  Lord  Bute's  architect,  has  left  for  Italy  to  see  his  Lord- 
ship upon  the  subject,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  plans  will 
be  so  altered  as  to  allow  of  this  interesting  relic  of  the  past  being 
incorporated  with  the  new  work." — Western  Mail,  May  25,  1888. 

Note. — The  so-called  bastion  of  the  North  Gate  is  a  polygonal 
tower,  buttress  to  the  curtain-wall  of  the  original  enclosure,  similar 
in  outline,  section,  and  building  to  those  of  Caerwent.  I  think  most 
of  the  members  of  the  Cambrian  ArchsBological  Association  are 
aware  of  my  views,  long  since  made  public,  of  the  Roman  origin  of 
the  enclosure  of  Cardiff  Castle.  The  walling  now  laid  bare  is  some 
confirmation  of  these  views.  When  the  walling  was  first  exposed, 
some  three  months  back,  I  promised  Mr.  Corbett,  Lord  Bute's  agent, 
I  would  in  no  way  forestall  anything  he  or  Lord  Bute  might  have 
to  say  upon  the  subject.  So  far  there  is  very  little  to  say.  In  fact, 
such  evidence  as  there  is  goes  to  establish  the  fact  that  the  walling 
discovered  is  prior  to,  and  wholly  unconnected  with,  the  Town 
Walls  or  North  Gate. 

Geo.  E.  Robinson. 

CoRuiCTiON  IN  Reprint  of  Me.  Arthur  J.  Evans's  Paper  "  On  a 
Coin  of  a  Second  Carausius". — We  regret  that  a  note  sent  to  us 
by  Professor  J.  Rhys,  and  intended  to  have  been  added  to  Mr. 
Arthur  J.  Evans's  paper  in  the  April  number  of  the  Journal,  has 
been  printed  as  if  it  formed  portion  of  the  paper  itself.  Mr. 
Evans's  foot-note,  on  p.  148,  should  terminate  with  the  words,  "  a 
pool  in  the  Menai  Straits",  the  remainder  being  a  separate  para- 
graph contributed  by  Professor  Rhys. 

The  Edftors. 


%u\tuakm  €mktmn. 


FIFTH  SERIES.—  VOL.  F,  NO.  XX. 


OCTOBER   1888. 
EMRAL  AND  ITS  OCCUPANTS. 

BT  THE   REV.  CANON   M.   B.   LEE. 

Emral  was,  according  to  John  Erthig  of  Erthig,  the 
dower-house  of  Emma,  wife  of  Gruffydd  ap  Madoc, 
who  had  been  obliged  for  some  time  before  his  death, 
in  1270,  to  conBne  himself  within  the  limits  of  his 
impregnable  castle  of  Dinas  Bran.^  The  date  of  his 
marriage  with  Emma  Audley  is  not  known ;  but  all 
their  four  sons  would  seem  to  have  been  of  age  in 
1270,  when  they  confirmed  and  added  to  their  mother's 

^  See  Caradoo  of  Llancarvan,  p.  180,  also  on  p.  278,  under  date 
1257,  **  But  Graffjdh  ap  Madoc  Maelor,  lord  of  Dinas  Br&n,  a  per- 
son of  notorious  reputation  for  injustice  and  oppression,  basely  for- 
sook the  Welsh,  his  countrymen,  and  with  all  his  forces  went  over 
to  the  Earl  of  Chester."  The  next  year  (1258)  "Llewelyn  must 
needs  be  avenged  upon  that  ungrateful  fugitive,  G-ruffydh  ap  Madoc 
Maelor;  and  thereupon  passing  through  Bromfeld,  he  miserably 
laid  waste  the  whole  country.  Upon  this  the  Kings  of  England  and 
Scotland  sent  to  Llewelyn  requiring  him  to  cease  from  hostility 
and  after  that  unmerciful  manner  to  devour  and  to  take  away  other 
men's  estates.  The  Prince  was  not  over  sollicitous  to  hearken  to 
their  request,"  etc.  "After  that,  sending  for  all  the  forces  in  South 
Wales,  he  came  to  the  Marches,  where  Gruffydh,  lord  of  Bromfeld, 
finding  that  the  King  of  England  was  not  able  to  defend  his  estate, 
yielded  himself  up."  "  Within  that  space  a268-72)  died  Grono  ap 
Ednyfed  Fychan,  one  of  the  chief  lords  of  the  Prince's  Council,  and 
shortly  afler  him  (in  1270),  Omffydh,  lord  of  Bromfeld,  who  lies 
buried  at  Valle  Crucis." 

5th  sbr.,  vol.  v.  20 


276  EMRAL  AND  ITS  OCCUPANTS. 

jointure.     It  is  singular  that  we  hear  nothing  of  any 
lands  belonging  to  herself.     Her  husband  was  lord  of 
both  Maelors ;  and  the  Fens  Wood,  where  the  Moss 
now  is,  had  been  in  1198  part  of  the  inheritance  of 
the  Princes  of  Powys,  though  it  was  then  in  Salop. 
In  marrying  Emma  Audley  he  had  allied  himself  to 
his  next  neighbour,  and  to  one  of  the  most  powerful 
families  on  the  border.     Henry  de  Aldithley,  the  first 
who  took  the  name,  is  supposed  by  Dugdale  to  have 
been  of  the  Verdon  family,  inasmuch  as  he  received 
the  inheritance  of  Aldithley  from  Nicolas  de  Verdon, 
who  died  15  Henry  III,  leaving  only  a  daughter  to 
succeed  him ;  and  because  he  bore  the  same  arms  as 
Verdon,  frett^  with  large  canton  in  the  dexter  chief, 
and  thereon  a  cross  pat^.^     Henry  de  Aldithley  was 
Constable  of  the  castles  of  Salop  and  Bruges  in  16 
Henry  III,  and  in  the  August  following  had  special 
licence  to  build  a  castle  upon  his  own  land  called 
Radcliffe   in   co.   Salop,  since   called   Red   Castle  by 
reason  of  that  high  rock  whereon  it  was  placed.     He 
founded  the  Abbey  of  Hilton,  co.  Staflford,  near  his 
castle  of  Heleigh,  and  married  Bertred,  daughter  of 
Ralf  de  Meisnilwarin,  by  whom  he  left  issue  James 
and  Emma.     The  former  did  homage  31  Henry  III, 
and  was  in  great  favour  with  Richard  Earl  of  Corn- 
wall, and  was  with  him  at  Aquisgrave  on  Ascension 
Day  1267,  when  he  was  crowned  King  of  Almaine. 
In  the  following  Michaelmas  he  returned  to  England 
with  Henry,  son  to  the  same  King  of  Almaine,  and, 
hearing   that   the  Welsh   in   his   absence  had  made 
divers  incursions  upon  his  lands  lying  upon  the  con- 
fines of  Wales,  and  exercised  mucn  cruelty  there  by 
fire  and  sword,  he   hastened  thither,  and,   entering 
these  territories,  retaliated  the  like  to  them,  having 
brought  from  beyond  sea  with  him  certain  troops  of 
Almaine  horse,  which  routed  the  Welsh  on  the  first 
encounter.      He  was  engaged  in  Border  wars   until 
51   Henry  III,  and  in  the  following  year  went  on 

^  Dagdale  does  not  mention  the  colours. 


EMRAL  AND  ITS  OCCUPANTS.  277 

pilgrimage  to  St.  James's,  in  Galicia,  and  in  54  Henry 
III  to  the  Holy  Land.  He  died  in  56  Henry  III, 
1272,  having  broken  his  neck.  He  was  succeeded  by 
his  son  and  heir,  James,  who  died  1  Edward  I,  and 
after  him  there  were  seven  barons,  ending  with  a 
Nicholas  de  Aldithley,  who  died  childless  at  the  age 
of  fifty-six,  15  Richard  II.  His  inheritance  passed  to 
John  Touchet,  then  twenty  years  of  age,  who  was  son 
of  his  elder  sister  Joan,  and  was  summoned  to  Parlia- 
ment by  the  title  of  Baron  Audley. 

After  the  death  of  her  husband,  innumerable  diffi- 
culties seem  to  have  beset  Emma  Audley,  and,  though 
some  of  them  may  have  been  of  her  own  making,  still 
the  relative  positions  of  King  Edward  and  Llewelyn 
II,  of  the  King's  bailiffs  and  any  great  Welsh  family 
upon  the  Border,  must  have  made  her  position  a  diffi- 
cult one,  even  though  backed  by  the  aid  of  her  own 
nephews,  the  Audleys.  We  soon  find  that  Roger 
Mortimer  and  Walter  de  Hopton  were  assigned  to 
hear  the  complaints  of  Emma  who  had  been  the  wife 
of  Grjrffyth  of  Brumfield,  and  the  following  Inquisi- 
tion was  taken,  5  Edward  I  [l3th  July  1277],  before 
Gunceline  de  Badlesmere,  Justice  of  Chester  : — 


"  Emma  quae  f uit  uxor  Griffini  filii  Madod :  De  quibusdam 
maneriis  quae  ipsa  tenuit  de  dono  predicti  Griffini  habenda  ad 
totam  vitam  suam,  k  quorum  seisinIL  Ballivi  Begis  de  Brumfeld 
ipsam  ejecerunt.  Griflin^  de  Brumf*,  quando  Emmam  filiam  Hen. 
de  Auldithley  duxit  in  uxorem  dedit  eidem  EmmaB  decern  libra- 
tas  redditus  de  Meyler  Seysnek,  et  partem  dominicarum  de 
Overton  ad  terminum  vitae  suae,  et  eadem  Emma  per  ballivum 
suum  jura  omnia  expleta  dicti  manerii  cepit  ad  opus  suiun  pro- 
prium  toto  tempore  vitas  dicti  Griffini  viri  sui 

"Bequisiti  si  illud  manerium  de  Mayler  Saysnek  collatum  fuit 
eidem  nomine  feoffamenti  vel  dotis  ? 

"Jurati  dicunt  quod  per  feofTamentum  dicti  Griffini  et  per 
chartam  suam  quam  porrexit  ibidem 

'*Requisiti  qualiter  et  quomodo  dicta  Emma  venit  ad  mane- 
rium de  Overton 

**  Dicunt  quod  dictum  manerium  fuit  eschaeta  dicti  Griffini  per 
mortem  Howel  fratris  ejus,  et  postquam  idem  Griffinus  inde 

20  3 


278  EMRAL  AND  ITS  OCCUPANTS. 

habuit  bonam  et  pacificam  seisinam  manerium  prsedictum  dedit 
dictae  Emmse  uxori  suae. 

"  liequisiti  si  nomine  dotis  vel  feoffamenti 

"  Dicunt  quod  per  feoffamentum  et  per  quandam  chartam 
quam  porrexit  ibidem  quae  illud  idem  testatiir  simul  cum  con- 
firmatione  heredum  dicti  Griffini  quam  eidem  Emmas  fecerunt 
post  mortem  dicti  Grifftni,  et  cum  confirmatione  Llewelini  tunc 
Principis  Walliae,  qui  omnes  donationes  confirmavit. 

"  Bequisiti  qualiter  et  quomodo, 

'*  Dicunt  quod  consuetude  Wallise  est  q*  unusquisque  Walensis 
ad  voluntatem  suam  dare  potest  uxori  suae  terras  et  tenementa 
sua  ante  sponsales  vel  post,  prout  sibi  cederit  volimtatL 

"  Bequisiti  si  per  Ballivos  Domini  Segis  dicta  Emma  ejecta 
fuit  de  terris  et  tenementis  predictis  vel  per  alios, 

"  Dicunt  quod  post  mortem  dicti  GriflBni  eadem  Emma  stetit 
in  seisina  de  omnibus  terris  et  tenementis  predictis  usque  guerram 
inceptam  inter  Angliam  et  Walliam,  et  ex  tunc  eo  quod  dicta 
Emma  fuit  ad  fidem  domini  Begis  in  AnglieL  dictus  Llewelinus 
ipsam  de  omnibus  terris  et  tenementis  predictis  ejecit,  et  dictas 
terras  et  tenementa  reddidit  Madoco  fiUo  Madoci.'^     (Cestr.) 

As  the  war  referred  to  broke  out  in  1277,  5  Edward 
I,  and  this  Inquisition,  taken  in  that  year,  proves 
that,  she  was  then  dispossessed  of  her  lands  in  both 
Maelors,  we  have  a  date  beyond  which  she  was  not 
resident  at  Emral.  It  was  probably  at  this  date  also 
that  the  family  of  le  Brun,  or  Brunett,  were  chased 
over  the  Border  by  Llewelyn,  and  that  the  invading 
army  of  Edward  burnt  and  cut  down  the  Fens  Wood, 
now  a  turf  moss. 

In  1278  Emma  died,  and  an  Inquisition  taken  at 
that  time  is  as  follows  :  *'  Inq.  p.  m.  6  Edw.  I.  Emma 
uxor  Griffini  fil  Madoci  Overton  Manor.  Eiton  manor. 
Mayler  Sasenek  terr.,  etc.,  Wallia."  This  does  not 
agree  with  the  account  given  by  Caradoc  of  Llan- 
carvan,  under  date  1158  [anticipating  his  story,  which 
refers  to  1274-78],  that  "Emma,  seeing  two  of  her 
sons  disinherited  and  done  away,  and  the  fourth  dead 
without  issue,  and  doubting  lest  Grufiydh,  her  only 
surviving  child,  could  not  long  continue^  she  conveyed 
her  estate  to  the  Audleys,  her  own  kin,  who,  getting 
possession  of  it,  took  the  same  from  the  King,  from 


EMRAL  AND  ITS  OCCUPANTS.  279 

\vhoin  it  came  to  the  house  of  Derby,"  etc.  That 
Madoc,  her  eldest  son,  was  living  in  1277  appears 
from  the  finding  of  the  jurors,  that  "Llewelyn  had 
made  over  to  him  the  lands,  etc.,  which  he  took  from 
Emma":  that  he  was  dead  before  December  10,  1278, 
appears  from  Rotuli  Wallenses,  6  Edward  I,  when,  by 
letters  patent  dated  at  Shrewsbury,  the  "  King  grants 
the  custody  of  all  the  lands  of  which  Madoc  de  Brum- 
feld  had  died  seised  in  demesne  as  of  fee,  and  the 
issues  and  profits  thereof  to  Griffin,  son  of  lerworth, 
the  said  Griffin  to  account  for  the  same  to  Anian,  then 
Bishop  of  St.  Asaph,  and  to  Margaret  the  widow  of 
the  said  Madoc,  for  the  sustentation  of  the  two  sons 
and  heirs  of  the  said  Madoc."  Emma's  next  son, 
Llewelyn,  seems  to  have  been  dispossessed  of  his  lands; 
the  third,  Owen,  was  Rector  of  Blanckebir  (Bangor)  on 
January  11th,  1283  (see  Joseph  Morris's  MSS.).  Hugh 
Lleyn  states  that "  Owen  got  for  his  share  the  half  of 
Kynllaith  and  Bangor,  whilst  waiting  for  a  bishopric,  be- 
cause  he  was  a  distinguished  scholar,  and  he  died  young", 
A  sum  of  money  had  also  been  allowed  out  of  tne 
revenues  of  the  benefice  for  his  education.  In  Bishop 
Gastrell's  Notitia  we  are  told  that  "the  Rectory  of 
Bangor  Monachorum  is  appendant  to  the  "  Manor  of 
Maylor,  and  that  there  is  an  ancient  grant  made  by 
the  Lord  of  Maylor  of  the  Advowson  of  this  Church 
about  18  Edward  I,  1290.''  Owen  was  therefore  dead 
at  that  date.  It  would  be  of  great  interest  to  know 
if  the  ancient  grant  is  still  in  existence,  who  the 
nominee  was,  and  by  whom  he  was  appointed;  for  the 
*'Lord  of  Maylor"  might  be  Edward  II,  Prince  of 
Wales,  or  his  bailiflT,  Robert  de  Crevecoeur,  or  the 
Firmarius  Manerii,  Adam  de  Creting,  or,  as  some 
think,  John,  Earl  Warren,  who  received,  in  1281, 
Dinas  Brd;n,  with  other  possessions  in  Bromfield,  of  the 
princely  house  of  Maelor,  including  Eyton  Park,  which, 
being  in  Bangor  parish,  might  give  the  impression 
that  he  was  patron  of  the  living.  This  was  probably 
not  the  case,  and  the  coffin-lids  of  the  Warenn  family 


280  EMRAL  AND  ITS  OCCUPANTS. 

which  Pennant  speaks  of  in  1778  would  simply  show 
that  Bangor  was  then,  as  now,  the  parish  church  of 
Eyton,  though  in  a  different  county.  The  fourth  son 
of  Emma,  Gruffydh,  received  a  portion  of  the  paternal 
inheritance,  holding  it  '*at  the  King's  pleasure":  he 
was  the  ancestor  of  Owen  Glyndwr.  For  further 
particulars  of  this  family  the  reader  is  referred  to 
Canon  Bridgeman's  PHnces  of  South  Wales,  pp.  250-2, 
and  to  Powys  Fadog,  vol.  i,  p.  1 72. 

It  does  not  appear  where  Emma  was  buried.  The 
mention  of  Blanckebir  is  an  interesting  confirmation  of 
St.  Bede's  name,  " Bancomaburgh'',  as  also  is  "Bonum", 
for  "Bovium",  amonga  list  of  places  claimed  by  Margaret^ 
widow  of  Madoc  ap  Gruffydd,  which  Gruffydd  Vychan, 
son  of  Gruffydd,  unjustly  detained  (Ayloffe's  Ancient 
Kalendars).  Immediately  upon  the  death  of  Emma, 
Edward  I  puts  Robert  de  Crevequer  into  possession  of 
the  manor  of  Overton,  with  the  terra  de  Maelor  Saesneg, 
including  all  fees  and  advowsons. 

We  must  bear  in  mind  that  with  the  death  of 
Emma  and  conquest  of  Wales  the  Norman  interest,  as 
recorded  in  Domesday  Booh,  was  revived,  but  new 
arrangements  were  made  by  Edward  I.  The  whole  of 
English  Maelor,  which  had  been  divided  between  Cestre- 
scire  and  Salopesscire,  was  now,  with  Englefield,  Hope- 
dale,  and  Ruthelan,  formed  into  the  new  county  of 
Flint  (a.d.  1284).^  Edward's  son,  the  young  Prince 
of  Wales,  was  its  lord,  as  of  the  rest  of  WaJes,  and 
also  Earl  of  Chester.  The  Queen's  bridge  in  Overton 
and  Queen's  ford*  in  Worthenbury  are  supposed  to 
preserve  the  tradition  of  the  route  along  which  the 


*  Statuta  Walliae,  12  Edward  I.  "Vice-Comes  de  Flynt,  sub  quo 
cantreda  de  Englefend,  terra  de  Mejlor  Seysnek  et  terra  de  Hope, 
el  iota  terra  coDJoncta  oastro  nostro  et  ville  de  Rothelan  nsque  ad 
villain  GestrisB  de  cetero  intendat  snb  nobis  JoRticiario  nostro  Ces- 
trisB,  et  de  exitibns  ejnsdem  Oommoti  ad  eomndem  comitatum,  tot. 
et  aL  respondeat  ad  saccrarinm  nostram  Cestrias." 

'  A  little  below  this  ford,  at  the  east  end  of  the  Doles,  a  bridge 
was  built  by  the  late  Sir  B.  Pnleston  about  1845. 


EMRAL  AND  ITS  OCCUPANTS.  281 

Queen  was  hurried  on  her  way  to  Caernarvon.  At 
this  date  we  find  the  whole  of  English  Maelor  in- 
cluded under  the  names  "Manerium  de  Overton,  et 
terra  de  Maelor  Saesnek".  We  shall  not  attempt  to 
describe  the  respective  limits  of  these  two  at  this 
time ;  nor,  indeed,  were  they  known  or  accurately 
defined  for  many  years  after. 

In  7  Edward  I  Richard  de  Pyvylsdon  restores  to 
the  King  all  the  lands  and  tenements  which  he  held 
of  the  King  himself  in  Worthenbury.  This  is  two 
years  after  Emma  had  been  ejected  by  Llewelyn,  and 
one  year  after  the  whole  of  Maelor  Saesnek  had  been 
bestowed  upon  Robert  de  Crevecoeur  (see  Literse  Pat. 
of  6  Edward  I,  exhibited  at  the  death  of  the  said 
Robert,  9  Edward  II,  Cal.  Rot.  Pat.).  Not  only  so, 
but,  by  deed  without  date,  Worthenbury  is  bestowed 
upon  a  friend  of  his  own,  Baldwyn  de  Frivytt.  Then 
"  foresta  domini  Rogeri  de  Py velesdon"  is  mentioned 
in  a  deed  of  1284.  Elsewhere  we  find  that  a  quarrel 
was  going  on  between  the  bailiff  of  the  manor  and 
Roger  TEstrange,  and  with  Llywelyn  Vachan  of 
Estwyc.^  It  is  plain  that  everything  was  in  confusion; 
but  finally  the  will  of  the  King  prevailed,  that  Emral 
should  be  given  to  the  Shropshire  family  of  Pyveles- 
don,  whom  he  favoured.  The  founder  of  this  family 
is  said  to  have  "  come  over  at  the  Conquest".  This 
colloquial  expression  does  not  prove  anything  as  to 
national  descent.  In  Freeman's  Norman  Conquest^ 
vol.  iii,  p.  305,  it  is  shown  conclusively  that  "WUliam 
invited  volunteers  from  all  parts;  that  the  Conquest 
was  not  a  national  Norman  enterprise;  that  great 
numbers   of  auxiliaries   were  from  Brittany,  for  the 


^  Placita  Rolls,  14/19.  Baro  Rob.  de  Creveqner,  who  took  writ 
v.  Roger  Extranens,  does  not  prosecute  in  Mia  D*o,  m.  35, 42.  Pleas 
at  Montgomery,  Monday  after  St.  Michael,  a'o  10  Edw.  I.  Lewelin 
of  Estwyc  petit  Rob.  Creveqner  manor  of  "  Ov*ton  cum  pertinen- 
ciis",  and  say  "  certain  of  their  ancestors  served  the  King".  Rob. 
says  **  holds  of  King  and  by  his  feoffment,  and  proffers  charter", 
etc. 


282  EMRAL  AND  ITS  OCCUPANTS. 

Celtic  race  has  a  long  memory/'  It  may,  for  instance, 
be  quite  a  question  whether  Hugh  d'Avranches,  the 
future  Earl  of  Chester,  was  not  one  of  the  Tudor  Trevor 
family  who  held  lands  in  Maelor  under  the  Princes  of 
Powys  Fadog;  and  so,  too,  the  ancestor  of  the  John 
de  Havering  who  appears  so  often  in  the  writs  of 
Edward  I  as  "Joannes  d'Avrancis".  Some  of  those 
who  *'came  over"  with  the  Conqueror  may  there- 
fore have  ^^gone  over"  first  to  enlist  themselves  under 
his  standard;  and  perhaps  the  ancestor  of  the  Pyve- 
lesdons  may  have  been  one  of  these,  (1)  because 
Pilson  is  not  known  as  a  name  in  Normandy  by  those 
who  are  acquainted  with  its  history,  and  (2)  because 
Pilsdon,  Pulston,  and  Pilson  (Pyvelesdon)  are  all  of 
them  names  of  well-known  places  in  the  counties  of 
Dorset  and  Salop.  Pulston  is  the  name  of  a  manor 
in  the  parish  of  Charminster,  held,  7  Henry  II,  by 
Bernardus  Poleyn,  and  so  meaning  perhaps  ^'Poleyn's 
town".  The  other,  Pilsdon  Pen,  is  the  highest  point 
in  the  county  of  Dorset,  standing  some  943  feet  above 
the  sea,  and  about  7^  miles  north-west  of  Bridport, 
and  the  same  distance  from  Crewkeme  Station.  The 
hill  stands  a  mile  northward  from  the  village  of  Pils- 
don ;  on  its  eastern  limit  is  a  large  and  strong  encamp- 
ment, encompassed  with  a  triple  rampart  and  ditches, 
excepting  on  the  eastern  side,  where  the  natural 
ascent  is  so  steep  as  to  have  rendered  the  camp  in- 
accessible. The  form  of  the  camp  is  nearly  oval,  being 
adapted  to  the  shape  of  the  hill  on  which  it  stands. 
(Moule's  English  Counties,  p.  349.) 

The  late  W.  Barnes,  the  Dorset  antiquary,  writes: 
"  Earthworks  such  as  Pilsdon  were  formed  before  the 
back  reach  of  any  history,  and,  as  I  believe,  by  the 
free  tribes  or  clans  of  Britain,  each  under  its  tribe- 
head  (pencenedl),  long  ere  the  time  of  any  head  king 
of  Britain,  such  as  Cassibelaunus  or  of  Moelmud  (Moel- 
meed),  who  lived  300  or  400  years  before  the  Nati- 
vity ;  and  I  do  not  think  that  any  Briton  could  have 
told  the  Romans,  either  from  history  or  tradition,  by 


EMRAL  AND  ITS  OCCUPANTS.  283 

v^hat  clan  Pilsdon  was  cast  up."  In  Charles  Warne's 
Ancient  Dorset  Pilez  is  said  to  be  a  Celtic  word  mean- 
ing bald,  and  that  the  name  means  the  fortress  of  the 
bare  hill-top. 

There  is  a  parish  called  Pylle,  three  miles  south 
of  Shepton  Mallet,  the  situation  of  which  is  thus 
described  by  the  Hon.  H.  F.  B.  Portman,  its  late 
rector :  "  Pylle^  or  Pull  means  a  pool  or  harbour.  In 
times  long  gone  by  an  arm  of  the  Bristol  Channel 
evidently  extended  beyond  Glastonbury  up  the  valley, 
past  West  Pennard  on  the  south  ana  Pilton  on  the 
north;  then  passing  Pylle,  Evercreech,  and  on  to 
Milton  Clevedon,  where  it  was  stopped  by  the  semi- 
circle of  hills  or  clifis.  This  is  the  tradition  in  the 
neighbourhood)  and  no  doubt  is  accurate  more  or 
less." 

The  manor  of  Pillesdon  consisted  of  only  three 
hides.  It  had  belonged  in  Saxon  times  to  Sauuinus. 
At  the  time  of  the  Domesday  Survey,  Edric,  one  of 
the  King's  Thanes,  held  it  (Eyton  s  Key  to  Domesday, 
Dorset,  pp.  141-2).  Afterwards  it  was  the  property 
of  a  family  who  took  their  name  from  the  place,  one 
of  whom,  Eudo  de  Pillesdon,  was  living  in  16  Henry 
II.  Two  of  this  family  were  Crusaders.  Warresius 
de  Pillesdon  was  living  in  the  time  of  Kichard  I,  and 
died  on  his  journey  to  Jerusalem.  Jordan'  de  Py  vels- 
don  or  Pyllesdon  had  letters  of  protection  from  the 
Crown,  25  Henry  III,  on  going  to  the  Holy  Land. 
From  the  Pillesaons  this  manor  passed  hereditarily, 
in  the  time  of  Edward  III,  to  the  family  of  Le  Jeu, 
by  the  marriage  of  Alice,  daughter  and  heiress  of 
John  de  Pyllesdon,  with  John  Le  Jeu.  The  present 
proprietor  and  patron  of  the  church'  is  the  Rev.  H.  T. 
Bower. 

^  Major  Thoyts  writes,  *'  in  the  Kennot  YaUey  the  pools  formed 
by  the  sluices  for  watering  the  meadows  are  called  pills." 

*  Hntchin's  History  of  J)orset,  i,  317. 

^  In  Hntchin's  History  of  Dorset,  i,  319,  we  find,  "  Pilsdon  Church 
is  a  small  bat  very  ancient  building.     Under  the  chancel  is  a  large 


284  EMRAL  AND  ITS  OCCUPANTS. 

Turning  now  to  Salop,  we  find  a  place  called  Pilson 
near  Newport,  which  is  thus  described  in  the  Domes- 
day Survey  :  "  Turold  holds  Plivesdone.  Earl  Edwin 
held  it.  Here  is  one  hide  that  pays  the  gelt ;  there 
is  land  for  4  ox  teams ;  in  the  time  of  King  Edw.  the 
manor  was  worth  8s.  per  ann.  Turold  found  it 
waste,  and  so  it  remains."  In  J.  C.  Anderson's 
Salopia  we  find  **  Pilson  once  belonged  to  Turold  de 
Verley,  and,  like  his  other  manors,  afterwards  became 
part  of  the  fee  of  Chetwynd".  It  is  now  (1888)  a 
township  of  that  parish,  and  there  is  a  modem  farm, 
which  may  have  superseded  the  manor-house ;  several 
houses  were  pulled  down  at  the  beginning  of  this 
century.  Chetwynd  Church  also  is  only  twenty-one 
years  old,  having  been  removed  from  a  very  old  site 
to  suit  the  convenience  of  the  patron.  No  Pyveles- 
don  memorials,  therefore,  are  forthcoming.  A  family 
with  the  local  name  is  found  in  the  eleventh  century, 
and  exercised,  it  is  plain,  great  influence  on  the  Welsh 
border.  The  name  occurs  frequently  in  connection 
with  those  of  Audley  and  L^Estrange,  and  it  may 
have  been  owing  to  friendship  with  the  Audleys  that 
Roger  de  Pyvelesdon  was  chosen  to  succeed  Emma  at 
Emral.  Each  one  of  the  family,  it  is  plain  to  see,  was 
the  King  of  England's  man ;  and,  though  the  name 
does  not  occur  on  the  Roll  of  Battle  Abbey,  yet  we 
shall  find  them  associated  with  many  Norman  families. 
In  the  Salesbury  MSS.  Puleston  and  Hanmer  are 
mentioned  as  "English  Settlers"  in  Maelor,  all  the 
other  families  being  of  British  descent.  Owing  to  the 
repetition  of  the  same  Christian  names— Roger,  Richard, 
Agnes,  John — in  each  branch  of  the  family,  and  the 
absence  of  dates  in  public  and  private  records,  there  is 

vaalt,  the  bnrial  place  of  the  Hodys  and  the  Wyndhams ;  bat  no 
tomb  or  inscription  here  or  elsewhere.  In  the  windows  have  been 
mnch  painted  glass,  but  mostly  defaced  by  age.  There  still  remain 
in  a  sonth  window,  i.  A.  a  chevron  between  3  black  moors*  heads,  S. 
II.  G.  a  pair  of  wings,  over  it  a  bend,  az.  ni.  G.  a  chevron,  A.  In 
the  east  window,  A.  a  lion  rampant,  G.,  and  a  bendy  of  6,  A.  and  G.'* 


EMRAL  AND  ITS  OCCUPANTS.  285 

more  than  usual  difficulty  in  assigning  the  proper 
place  to  each  individual ;  but,  having  compared  the 
various  MSS.  Cae  Cyriog,  Salesbury,  Lewis  Dwnn, 
with  Emral  papers,  lent  me  by  the  Rector  of  Worth- 
enbury,  the  following  pedigree  may  be  suggested  : 

Hamo  de  Fyvelsdon  alive  in  1200 

Bobert 
(Salesbury  MSS.) 

Sir  Bichard 

Boger 

\ , 

i         n  [        3]  2i 

Jordan  Thomas,  Alice  Sir  Boffer  Bicnard 

s.  and  heir    "-Robt.  de    "de  Embers-      sorrenders  Em- 
I  Harley,     hair,9£dw.I,    brall,7  Edw.  I,  to 

Roger  1265  hanged  by        the  King;  de- 

Welsh,  1294         scribed  as  de 

^1       Flotesbrook,  co.  Staff. 

j         ''  I  I  [  His  descendants  took 

Thomas       Bichard       Boger  Bichaids=  ^^®  name  of  Jordan 

I 


I                  U               8|4|5|  61                21               7| 

Isabell    Sir  William    Philip    Hugh   David  Edmond   Sir  Roger   Robert 

IB  Philip      0.  s.  j>.             I  I 

de  Chetwind              Kicholas  | 

I         i       n       2i 

Agnes      Johanna    Sir  John    Bichard 


^   I  r — I —   I 

Boger  0.  «.  p.  Bobert    Bichard    Katherine 

I    


I    I   I  '  2|  IJ 

Agnes  »  Madoo^  founder  of  Hafod  y  Wem  branch  John 

Angharatai 

Ellen= 


8|  91  I 

Nicholas  Thomas  Bichard  of 

(Salesbury  MS.)   (Salesbury  MS.)   Batebruggemor 

In  1191  Hamo  de  Pivelesdon  is  "Recognozer"  in 
the  Chesswell  trials,  was  living  a.d.  1200,  and  had  an 
office  usually  assigned  to  knignts  only.  (Placita  Trin. 
Term,  2  John,  m.  20,  Eyton's  Salop.)  In  the  same 
month  he  was  a  visor,  to  ascertain  the  validity  of  an 
esscrign  de  malo  lecti,  whereby  the  Abbot  of  Lilies- 
hall  was  avoiding  the  necessity  of  appearing  in  the 


286  EMRAL  AND  ITS  OCCUPANTS. 

Courts  of  Westminster.^  In  Michaelmas  Term,  1  John 
(1199),  Hamo  de  Pyvelesdon,  with  Adam  de  Chet- 
wind,  Peter  de  Eiton,  Adam  de  Alarton,  Philip  de 
Buterey  (?  Bubney),  Walter  d'Elpole,  and  Pagan  de 
Charenton,  who  had  been  of  the  jury  in  an  assize 
of  novel  disseisin  between  Walter  de  Witefeld  and 
Robert  de  Huntingeland  respecting  the  land  of 
"  Chershall",  were  summoned  to  show  in  what  manner 
that  assize  was  taken,  etc.  (Plac.  in  domo  Cap. 
West.,  1  John,  vol.  x,  p.  25.)  In  George  Morris's 
pedigrees  (Eyton)  the  name  of  Robert  is  mentioned 
as  father  of  Richard  de  Pyvelesdon,  but  no  references 
are  given,  nor  have  I  met  with  the  name  in  any  of  the 
Welsh  MSS. 

In  1227,  6th  May,  William  de  Pyvelesdon  appoints 
John  Swanesmore,  Thomas  Coli,  and  John  Taylor  his 
attorneys  to  receive  seisin  of  all  lands  and  tenements 
in  the  township  of  Puleston  from  the  Lord  of  Chet- 
wynde-  (Emral  MS.)  In  1253  he  is  witness  to  a 
charter.     (Ditto.) 

Between  1225-40  Richard  de  Pyvelesdon  witnesses 
two  Wombridge  charters,  in  the  beginning  of  the  reign 
of  Henry  III.  Richard  de  Pewelesdon  is  one  of  the 
attesting  witnesses  to  a  grant  from  Alianor,  daughter  of 
Roger  Mussone,  to  the  Canons  of  Wombridge  of  an  acre 
of  land  under  Wichele ;  and  also  to  another  grant,  about 
the  same  time,  and  with  nearly  the  same  witnesses, 
from  Richard  de  Brugg  and  Sybilla,  his  wife,  to  the 
same  Canons  of  two  seilions  of  land  in  the  field  of 
Upinton.  (Worm.  Chart.,  tit.  Upinton,  Nos.  cvi  and 
cciii,  and  vol.  ii,  pp.  226,  230.) 

Referring  to  a  marriage  between  a  Pyvelesdon  and 
Agnes  Warren  of  Warrenshall,  George  Morris  says 
"the  pedigree  of  Warren  does  not  notice  this;  and,  if 
it  did  take  place,  it  must  have  been  Roger,  sheriff  in 
1241,   or    (nis  father)    Richard,    who   married  her." 

^  Of  these  esscrig^s  (enqairies)  there  are  four  kinds  mentioned 
in  law  books.     This  is  in  respect  of  a  sickness  conBning  to  bed. 


EMRAL  AND  ITS  OCCUPANTS.  287 

Waranshall  was  one  of  the  fifteen  members  of  Stoke- 
upon-Tern,  in  the  Feodaries  of  1284-5  (Anderson's 
Salopiay  152).  Roger  de  Pyvelesdon,  who  was  alive 
in  1220,  is  the  second  person  named  in  the  Grand 
Inquest,  10  May,  37  Henry  III  (1253),  as  to  whether 
the  King  or  John  FitzAlan  were  entitled  to  the 
custody  of  the  Abbacy  of  Haghmond  during  its  vacancy 
by  death  or  otherwise. 

In  10  Henry  III  (1226)  Roger  de  Pyvelesdon,  with 
Roger  de  Girros,  Roger  de  Weston,  etc.,  attests  an 
agreement  between  Hymbert,  Prior  of  Wenlock,  etc., 
and  Roger,  son  of  William  de  Corfhull,  as  to  property 
in  Corfhull. 

In  1241  Roger  de  Pyvelesdon,  then  county. clerk 
for  Salop,  with  Lord  John  le  Strange,  then  sheriff, 
witnesses  an  agreement  between  Sir  Odo  de  Hodenet, 
son  of  Sir  Baldwin  de  Hodenet,  and  the  Abbey  of 
Shrewsbury.  (Shrewsbury  Chartulary,  No.  26,  406, 
and  vol.  ii,  p.  313.)  (1241)  the  same  year,  and  then 
sheriff,  Roger  de  Pyvelesdon,  with  Roger  de  Girros, 
Hugh,  son  of  Robert,  Will  de  Hadlega,  and  others, 
attests  a  grant  of  confirmation  made  by  William  Banastr 
to  the  Canons  of  Haghmond,  whereby  he  confirmed  the 
grants  made  by  his  father  and  his  predecessors  as 
to  lands  in  Hardewick,  Caldenhulle,  Shettewall. 
(Haghmond  Chartulary,  fo.^  104.)  He  is  said  to  have 
married  a  girl  (?  heiress)  of  Edge-by-Malpas  (Harl. 
MS.  1971),  to  whom  the  Christian  name  Agnes  is 
given.  According  to  the  Salesbury  MSS.  a  Roger 
Pulesdon  living  in  1346  marries  for  his  first  wife 
Margaret,  daugnter  of  Sir  William  Monthermer.  It  is 
more  probable  that  she  was  wife  (first  or  second)  to 
this  Roger,  who  was  living  in  1241.  Mr.  G.  F. 
Clark  writes :  "  There  is,  as  far  as  I  know,  but  one 
family  of  Monthermer,  that  represented  by  Ralph  de 
M.,  a  simple  Esquire,  who  married,  in  1296,  Joan, 
widow  of  the  Earl  de  Clare.''  It  is  also  said  that 
Roger  de  Pyvelesdon  had  a  daughter  Alice  by  his  wife 
Margaret  Monthermer,  and  that  she  married  Robert 


288  EMRAL  AND  ITS  OCCUPANTS. 

de  Harley.  This  Robert  succeeded  his  father  "  Richard, 
who  held  a  knight's  fee  in  Harle  in  1240,  and  became 
one  of  the  coroners  of  Salop,  and  died  in  the  office" 
(Anderson's  Salopia,  p.  220).  This  is  confirmed  by 
the  following  charter  : — 

A.D.  1255.  Roger  de  Pyvelesdon  grants  to  Robert 
de  Harlegh  in  frank  marriage  with  Alice  his  daughter 
half  a  mark  annual  rent  which  William  de  Donvill 
paid  for  a  tenement  held  under  the  grantor  in  the  vill 
of  Farlawe,  co.  Salop.  (Dugdale's  MSS.,  vol.  xxxix, 
fol.  80.) 

There  are  many  charters  at  this  date  witnessed  by 
a  Roger  de  Pyvelesdon  which,  in  the  uncertainty  as 
to  the  date  of  his  death,  maj  be  assigned  to  him  or  to 
his  son  Roger.  If  we  assume,  on  the  supposed  autho* 
rity  of  a  Hanmer  MS.,  that  he  lived  till  1272,  the 
following  will,  no  doubt,  refer  to  him. 

39  Henry  III,  1254.  Roger  de  Pyvelesdon,  custos 
of  the  son  and  heir  of  John  de  Dodyton,  which  he 
hath  of  the  gift  of  John  Fitz  Alan,  held  Dodyton,  in 
which  is  1^  hide,  and  it  does  suit  at  Hundred  Court, 
and  pays  for  the  Sheriff  6d.  Stretward,  and  12  pence 
Motfeh.  (Rot.  Hundred.,  v.  ii,  p.  81.)  He  also 
appears  as  custos  of  an  ancestor  of  the  present  pos- 
sessors of  Hawkestone.  *'  Adam  Wele  holds  1  hide  of 
land  at  firm  in  la  Hulle  until  the  age  of  the  heir  of 
Robert  de  la  Hulle,  from  Roger  de  Pyvelesdon,  for 
11th  part  of  a  Kt's  fee,  and  does  suit  to  the  Hun- 
dred."    (Rot.  Hund.,  V.  ii,  p.  74.) 

C.  s.  d. — Robert  de  Wodecote  grants  to  Roger  de 
Pyvelesdon  a  moiety  of  land  called  le  Quebbe.  Hiis 
testibus  He.  de  Chetwinde,  Jordan  de  Pyvelesdon, 
Michal  de  Morton,  James  of  the  same.  (Woodcote 
Evidences.)  [This  land  seems  to  have  come  into  the 
possession  of  his  grandson  Roger,  son  of  Thomas.] 
The  same  Robert  grants  to  the  same  Roger  a  virgate 
of  land  in  Linden.  Hiis  testibus  D'no  Will'o  Pantulf 
de  Hales,  D'no  H.  de  Weston,  WiU'o  de  Ipestan,  Mic. 
de   Morton,  James   of  the   same,  John   de   Weston, 


EMRAL  AND  ITS  OCCUPANTS.  289 

Seneschal  to  Lord  Nicholas  de  Audley.  (Woodcote 
Evidences.)  [Afterwards  the  property  of  Roger,  son 
of  Thomas.]  This  Roger  is  probably  the  one  to  whom 
a  cross  was  erected  at  Newport,  mentioned  in  au  un- 
dated deed  (see  Harl.  MS.  1985,  fol.  244);  from 
which  it  appears  that  a  Roger  de  Pyvelesdon  wit- 
nessed three  deeds  there  transcribed:  (1)  a  grant  by 
Nicholas  de  Audithley  to  his  burgesses  of  Newport; 
(2)  a  release  by  the  same  to  the  same;  (3)  a  grant  by 
the  same  Nicholas  to  the  same  burgesses  of  land  to 
build  a  market  cross,  which  extends  in  breadth  "a 
predicto  muro  cimeterii  usque  ad  crucem  positam  pro 
animd.  domini  Rogeri  de  Pyvelesdon".  He  left  four 
sons  besides  his  daughter  Alice,  wife  of  Robert  de 
Harley,  All  of  these  seem  to  have  been  men  of  note 
in  their  day.  Thomas  de  Pyvelesdon,  son  and  heir, 
was  an  eminent  London  merchant,  noticed  three  times 
in  the  Hist,  of  the  Barons^  Wars,  by  Blaauw  (London, 
1844).  He  and  Stephen  Buckerell  were  elected  cap- 
tains by  the  citizens.  He  was  chosen  Constabularius, 
and  Buckerell  Marshal.  He  was  present  with  Simon 
Montfort  at  the  battle  of  Lewes,  14th  May  1264.  In 
the  list  of  those  who  were  imprisoned  in  the  Tower 
are  the  names  of  Roger  de  Pyvelesdon  and  Richard, 
his  brother;  and  in  1265  Thomas  Pyvelesdon  and 
others  kept  prisoners  at  Windsor.  a.d.  1272-78, 
Master  Thomas,  son  and  heir  of  Roger,  in  the  King's 
prison,  attests  charters  of  Shrewsbury  Abbey.  (Emral. 
MS.)    In  1285,  Thomas  Pyvelesdon  sent  into  exile. 

In  the  Hist,  of  North  WaleSj  by  William  Cathrall, 
vol.  ii,  p.  128,  we  find:  "Some  Welsh  manuscripts 
assert  that  Thomas  Puleston,  Esquire,  brother  to  Sir 
Roger  Puleston,  Knight,  was  buried  at  Abererch,  co. 
Caernarvon."  Pennant  has  been  quoted  as  making 
this  statement;  but  I  cannot  find  any  passage  to  this 
effect,  and  should  be  glad  to  know  what  Welsh  MSS. 
are  referred  to. 

In  the  church  of  Abererch,  on  the  north  side  of  the 
modern  communion-table,  and  partly  beneath  the  rails, 


290  EMRAL  AND  ITS  OCCUPANTS. 

is  an  incised  stone  coffin-lid,  which,  upon  a  large  cross 
surrounded  by  foliations,  bears  a  plain  shield,  and 
upon  this  a  sword.  It  does  not  appear  that  any  con- 
siderable obliteration  could  have  been  made ;  neither 
is  there  a  trace  of  inscription  upon  the  edge  of  the 
stone.  It  is  known  to  have  rested  near  the  screen  in 
the  north  aisle,  and  to  have  been  removed  for  greater 
security  to  the  upper  part  of  the  south  aisle,  where  it 
now  is  (1888).     He  had  a  son  named  Roger. 

1288,  July. — Roger,  son  of  Master  Thomas,  sues 
Roger,  son  of  Jordan,  Ah'ce,  his  wife ;  Richard,  son  of 
Jordan  and  Adam  de  Legh.     (Emral  MS.) 

1292  (20  Edward  I). — Agreement  between  Roger, 
son  of  Jordan  de  Pyvelesdon,  and  Roger,  son  of  Thomas 
de  Pyvelesdon,  respecting  some  waste  lands  ait  Pyveles- 
don and  a  wood  called  Holston.     (Emral  MS.) 

28  Edward  I. — Roger,  son  of  Thomas  de  Pyveles- 
don, was  one  of  the  Grand  Inquest  appointed  in  King 
Edward's  Charter  (Feb.  14,  29  Edward  I)  to  inquire 
into  the  usurpations  made  under  the  Forest  Laws. 
(Shrewsbury  Chartulary,  279,  v.  Appt.,  voL  i,  p.  x.) 

1306  (34  Edward  I). — The  same  persons  enter  into 
a  statutory  obligation  before  Thomas  Cole,  Mayor  of 
Shrewsbury.     (Emral  MS.) 

1311(4  Edward  II). — Grant  by  Roger,  son  of  Thomas 
de  Pyvelesdon,  to  John  Hynkle  of  one-third  of  seven 
messuages,  a  water-mill,  and  fish-pond,  one  carucate 
of  land,  three  pieces  called  le  Cwebbe,  and  335.  rent- 
charge  in  Lyndon  at  a  rent  of  nine  marks  a  year,  for 
which  the  said  John  Hynkle  paid  a  consideration  of 
forty  marks. 

1311. — Confirmation  of  the  above  by  the  children 
of  Roger,  son  of  Thomas  de  Pyvelesdon  (to  whom  he 
had  given  the  said  tenements  for  their  lives),  to  John 
Hynckley,  he  paying  them  the  said  rent. 

To  Richard  (the  second  son  of  Roger  I)  the  follow- 
ing grant  seems  to  belong,  preceding  a  similar  one  to 
his  brother  Roger  : — 

20  March  (12  Edward  I). — Rex  has  literas  suas 


EMRAL  AND  ITS  OCCUPANTS.  291 

patentes  dat.  apud  Rothelan  concessit  officium  vice- 
comitis  Comitat.  Caernarvon  (quamdiu  sibi  placuerit) 
Magistro  Rico  de  Pyvelisdon  cum  annuali  feodo  40 
librarum  (ut  apparet  in  Turri  London,  in  Rotulis  Wallise 
de  eodem  anno). 
I  Ditto  ....  consimiles  literas  habuit  Rogerus  de 

Pyvelesdon  de  officio,  Vice  Comitis,  Comit.  Anglesey 
cum  consimili  feodo,  ut  apparet  in  eodem  Rotulo  (vid. 
infra). 

This  Richard  seems  to  have  been  the  original  grantee 
of  Emral,  and  to  have  surrendered  it  to  the  King : 
"  Carta  Ric'i  de  Py  velsdon  p'quam  reddidit  Regi  Ed- 
wardo  omnes  terras  &  tenementa  que  de  ipso  Rege 
tenuit  in  Worthingbury  in  p'tibus  de  Mayelor  Seysenek, 
dat.  an.  regni  ipsius  Regis  VII  (1279)  et  irrotul  in 
rubro  libro  scaccarii."  As  Maelor  was  then  put  into 
the  hands  of  Robert  de  Crevequer,  the  grant  to  Bald- 
win de  Frivytt  probably  followed  this  surrender  by 
Richard;  but  there  is  no  date.  "Carta  Rob'ti  de 
Crevequer  per  quara  dedit  Baldewyno  de  Frivytt  totam 
villam  de  Worthingbury  cum  advocacione  eccle'ie  ejus- 
dem  h  end  sibi,  heredibus,"  etc.  (Rot.  Fin.,  Hen.  Ill 
and  Edw.  I,  p.  72.) 

"Richard  is  stated  to  have  been  of  Flotesbrook, 
Salop,  20  Edward  I"  (1292),  in  the  Emral  pedigree, 
receiving  it,  perhaps,  in  compensation  for  Emral,  and 
**  his  descendants  are  said  to  have  taken  the  name  of 
Jordan."  This  seems  to  be  confirmed  by  the  following 
extracts  from  Papworth  s  Ordinary  of  British  Armorials^ 
p.  996  :  *^Sa.  three  mullets  and  a  bordure  engr.  arg. 
for    Barbour,    Flotesbrook,^    co.     Stafford;    also    for 

^  See  also  Harwood's  Staffordsliire.  **  In  the  20th  cong.  Flotes- 
brook, CO.  Staff.,  vulgarly  Flash  brook,  was  in  the  King's  hands, 
and  24  Edw.  I  was  the  seat  of  Ricardus  de  Palesdone,  who  had 
issne  Jordanns  de  Puleston,  who  had  issue  Thomas  Jordan,  in 
whose  race,  by  the  name  of  Thomas  Jordan,  it  continued  till  the 
time  of  Hen.  VI  or  Ed.  IV,  when  one  Brown,  who  was  Barber  to 
Henry  Duke  of  Buckingham,  and  therefore  took  the  name  of 
Barber,  married,  as  I  take  it,  Jordane*s  daughter  and  heir.  John 
Barber,  or  Barbour,  bad  issue  John  of  Flashbrook,  etc.,  etc.  Arras, 
sa.  3  mullets  pierced,  a  bordure  engrailed,  arg.*' 

5th   8KR.,  VOL.  V.  2L 


292  EMRAL  AND  ITS  OCCUPANTS. 

Erdeswick,  and  for  Perwincke";  and  "  Sa.  three 
mullets  of  six  points  pierced  arg.  within  a  bordure 
erm.,  for  Jordaine,  Windsor  Forest,  co.  Berks,  temp. 
Edw.  III." 

Jordan,  the  fourth  son  of  Roger,  was  living  in  1256, 
and  three  sons  of  his  are  mentioned  in  old  charters — 
Thomas,  Richard,  Roger,  the  latter  having  a  wife 
named  Alice.  ''1256. — ^Jordan.  Odo  de  Hodenett 
had  claimed  a  carucate  of  land  in  Wyletowe  against 
Jordan,  tenant  thereof,  and  by  writ  of  Mort  d'Ancestre. 
He  now  renounces  his  claim,  and  Jordan  concedes  half 
the  premises  to  hold  to  his  heirs  under  Jordan  and 
his  heirs  at  12d.  rent."     (Emral  MS.) 

About  20  Edward  I  (1292). — Lease  by  Roger,  son 
of  Jordan,  to  Roger  de  Pyvelesdon  of  a  curtilage  [at 
Witelow  ?],  in  the  township  of  Pyvelesdon,  at  a  rent 
of  one  pair  of  white  [gloves  ?]  annually ;  the  lessor 
covenanting  not  to  build  on  the  chief  messuage  and 
garden,  which  he  retains.  (Salesbury  MSS.)  For 
other  notices  of  this  Roger,  viae  supra. 

No  date. — Jordan  de  Pyvelsdon,  with  Robert  de 
Wodecote,  attests  a  grant  from  William,  son  of  Regi- 
nald of  Little  Hales,  to  James,  son  of  William  de 
Morton,  of  5s.  id.  rent  in  Tibbriton ;  the  other  wit- 
nesses are  Hugh  de  Eton,  William  de  Mokeleston, 
Michael  de  Merton,  etc.     (?  Woodcote  Evidences.) 

... — Roger,son  of  Jordan  de  Pyvelesdon,  with  William 
de  Cayntun  and  others,  witnesses  a  grant  from  Mar- 
gery, daughter  of  Adam  de  Brimstre  of  Little  Hales, 
widow  to  John,  son  of  William  Randulf,  of  a  messuage 
and  half  virgate  in  ditto,  that  which  Roger,  son  of 
Robert  Saye,  formerly  held,  and  of  which  he  me  legally 
enfeoffed,  as  is  contained  in  my  charter  which  I  have  of 
the  aforesaid  Roger.     (Woodcote  Evidences.) 

1301-2. — Roger,  son  of  Jordan  de  Pyvelsdon,  elected 
by  the  communities  of  the  county  of  Salop  one  of  the 
assessors  or  collectors  of  the  15th  granted  in  Parlia- 
ment Jan.  20,  29  Edward  I,  and  empowered  accord- 
ingly by  commission  tested  Nov.  1,  29  Edward  I,  and 


EMRAL  AND  ITS  OCCUPANTS.  293 

writ  of  Assist.,  Feb.  9,  30  Edward  I.     (Writs  of  Par- 
liament and  Mil.  Summons.) 

The  second  son  '"Richard"  is  referred  to  in  Ey ton's 
Salopta,  viii,  98  :  **  Master  Richard,  son  of  Jordan  de 
Pyvelsdon,  who  lived  near  Newport,  Salop." 

As  Thomas,  the  son  and  heir  of  Roger,  was  last 
heard  of  as  sent  into  exile  in  1285,  it  is  probable  that 
the  following  entries  refer  to  Thomas,  son  of  Jordan  : 
*'  Master  Thomas  de  Pulesdone  attests  a  release  from 
Osbert,  son  of  William,  son  of  Walter  de  Tuggeford, 
relative  to  lands  in  Tuggeford.  (Morris [Ey  ton],  no  date.) 

Anno  1279,  5  Id.  Junii. — Peckhams  Register,  Lam- 
beth. "Homagia  facta,  etc..  Comes  Glovernen  ante 
horam  vespertinam  fecit  homag.  &  fidelitatem,  etc. 
Clericis  sociis  dicti  D  ni  Archiepiscopi.  D'no  Joh.  de 
Bosco.  Milit.  fil.  Arnulphi  de  Boxo.  Ric'o  de  Teyden. 
Magistro  T.  de  Pulesden." 

131 1  (4  Edward  II).  —Thomas  de  Pulesdon(valettus), 
of  CO.  Stafford ;  a  supervisor  of  array  for  co.  Salop ; 
leader  of  levies.  Sheriff  directed  to  pay  his  expenses. 
Commn.,  May  20.     (Morris  [Eyton]  MS.) 

1322. — ^Thomas  de  Pyvelesdon,  one  of  the  manu- 
captors  for  the  good  behaviour  of  Thomas  Wither,  on 
his  discharge  from  prison  as  an  adherent  of  the  Earl 
of  Lancaster,  July  11.     (Morris  [Eyton]  MS.) 

We  now  come  to  the  founder  of  the  Flintshire 
branch  of  the  house,  Roger,  third  son  of  Roger  I  de 
Pyvylesdon.  He  was,  we  are  told,  a  personal  favourite 
of  Edward  I,  and  it  was  by  the  King's  intervention,  no 
doubt,  that  Robert  de  Crevequer's  nominee  was  re- 
moved from  Emral,  and  Roger  Pulesdon  established 
there.  The  exact  date  does  not  appear,  but  he  is 
"de  Embers-hair  in  1283.  In  1284,  "foresta  dni 
Rogeri  de  Pyvylston"  occurs  as  a  boundary  in  a  grant 
of  lands  by  Owen  ap  Jeuaf  ap  Caradok.  (J.  Salesbury's 
MSS.,  p.  98.) 

In  the  Hundred  Rolls  for  Salop,  7  and  8  Edward  I, 
his  name  stands  second  among  the  twelve  jurors  on 
the    inquest,  as   to   ''how  many  and   what  demesne 

212 


294  EMRAL  AND  ITS  OCCUPANTS. 

manors  the  King  holds  in  his  own  hand".     Hamo  le 
Botiler  stands  first,  and  Rogerus  de  P'stone  next. 

6  Edward  I  (1277-8).— Pleas  at  Albo  Monasterio 
bef.  R'de  Ferryngham,  Adam  de  Montgomer  com- 
plains V.  Llew.  Pr.  of  Wales  that  he  took  his  grain  at 
Clynnoc  and  carried  it  away.  Pleadge,  Roger  Spren- 
hoose  and  Rog.  de  Pyvelesdon.  (Exchequer  Kolls, 
Wallia  Miscellaneous  Bag.,  No.  38,  M.I.) 

In  12  Edward  I  (1284)  he  is  appointed  Sheriif  and 
Vice-comes  of  Anglesey  (Ayloffe's  Jiot.  Wall,  89),  and 
the  expression  '*  consimiles  literas",  quoted  above, 
shows  that  it  was  his  brother  Richard  who  received 
the  same  ofl&ces  in  Caernarvon.  After  the  death  of 
David,  the  last  Prince  of  Wales  (a.d.  1282),  "Governors" 
of  Caernarvon  were  appointed:  1.  Maidenhaache ;  2. 
John  de  Havering,  21  Oct.  1289.  The  title  was  then 
changed  to  "Constable",  and  these  were — 3.  Ada.  de 
Wetenhall;  4.  Roger  Pulesdon,  who  died  in  1294, 
when  the  office  ceased.  Roger  is  said  to  have  married 
"Agnes"  [Jane  in  Dwnn  s  Pedigree],  daughter  of  David 
le  Clerk,  Baron  of  Malpas,  by  his  second  wife,  called 
also  Angharad,  by  whom  he  had  a  son  and  heir,  Richard. 
(Cae  Cyriog  MS.) 

23  May,  12  Edward  I. —  Rex  prsecepit  Camerario 
suo  de  Caernarvon  quod  allocaret  Rog.  de  Pyvelesdon, 
Vice-Comi.de  Anglesey  pro  servitio  suo  20K.de  redditu. 
FirmeB  istius  manerii  quod  idem  Rog'us  tenuit  de 
Rege  in  Anglesey. 

18  Edward  I,  13  May. — Rex  precepit  eodem  Came- 
rario allocare  Rogero  de  Pyvelesdon  Vic.  de  Anglesey 
in  prime  coraputo  suo  68U.  is.  lid.  de  exitibus  officii 
sui  predicti  per  ipsum  Rogerum  in  negotiis  Regis 
ibidem  expens : — 

17  Edward  I. — Pivelesdon,  Roger  de,  and  Joan,  his 
wife,  guardians  of  William,  son  and  heir  of  Thomas  de 
Venables,  against  the  Abbot  of  Chester.  Right  of 
presentation  to  the  Church  of  Astebury.  (A pp.  to 
26th  Report,  Welsh  Records,  No.  4,  p.  39.) 

In  the  Hist,  of  Wales,  by  Caradoc  of  Llancarvan, 


EMRAL  AND  ITS  OCCUPANTS.  295 

under  date  1293-4,  it  is  said:  *'King  Edward  was 
now  in  actual  enmity  and  war  with  the  King  of 
France,  for  the  carrying  on  of  which  he  wanted  a 
liberal  subsidy  and  supply  from  his  subjects.  This 
tax  was,  with  a  great  deal  of  passion  and  reluctancy, 
levied  in  divers  places  of  the  kingdom,  but  more 
especially  in  Wales ;  the  Welch,  never  being  acquainted 
with  such  large  contributions  before,  violently  stormed 
and  exclaimed  against  it  But,  not  being  satisfied 
with  vilifying  the  King's  command,  they  took  their 
own  Captain,  Roger  de  Puelesdon,  who  was  appointed 
collector  of  the  said  subsidy,  and  hanged  him,  together 
with  divers  others  who  abetted  the  collecting  of  the 
tax;"  and  on  page  307  :  "the  King  being  acquainted 
with  these  insurrections,  and  desirous  to  quell  the 
stubbornness  of  the  Welch,  but  most  of  all  to  revenge 
the  death  of  his  great  favourite,  Roger  de  Puelesdon, 
recalled  his  brother  Edmund,  Earl  of  Lancaster,"  etc. 
"The  collection  of  the  tax  must  have  commenced  in 
1293;  see  Ayloffes  Rotuli  WallicB,  Dec  29,  a.d.  1293, 
p.  99 ;  and  Pules  ton's  murder  must  have  taken  place 
after  18th  Jan.  1294,  for  on  that  day  he  witnesses  at 
Emral — being  then  a  knight — a  deed,  to  which  Richard 
de  Puleston  is  a  party.'  (E.  Breese's  Kalendars  of 
Gwynedd^  p.  48.) 

Madog,  an  illegitimate  son  of  Lly  welyn  ab  Grufiydd, 
the  last  sovereign  Prince  of  Wales,  was  at  the  head  of 
this  revolt,  and  he  afterwards  defeated  the  English 
under  the  command  of  the  King's  brother  near  Den- 
bigh. In  vol.  xiv  of  the  Lancashire  and  Cheshire 
Record  Society,  the  "Annales  Cestrienses"  (recently 
issued)  contain  the  following,  under  a.d.  1295:  "Et 
circa  festum  sancti  Petri  ad  vincula  [Augs'tl  captus 
est  Madocus  princeps  Wallise  per  dominum  Jonannem 
de  Ha  very  ngs  tunc  justiciarium  Walliae  qui  eum  London 
misit  ad  regem ;"  and  *'  1296,  post  pascha  captus  fuit 
Griffinus  ecloyt  (Clwyd)  a  domino  Johanne  de  Haver- 
ryngys  et  ductus  London." 

In  vol.  ii  of  his  Tours  in  Wales^  pp.  398-9,  T.  Pen- 


296  EMRAL   AND   ITS  OCCUPANTS. 

nant  says :  "  At  Caeraarvon  a  very  antient  house 
called  Plas  Pulesdon  is  remarkable  for  the  fate  of  its 
first  owner,  etc.  The  representative  of  the  place  is 
elected  by  its  burgesses,  and  those  of  Conwy,  Pwllheli, 
Nefyn,  and  Crickaeth.  The  first  member  was  John 
Puleston ;  and  the  second  time  it  sent  representatives, 
which  was  in  1st  Edward  VI,  it  chose  Robert  Puleston, 
and  the  county  elected  John,  as  if  both  town  and 
county  determined  to  make  reparation  to  the  family 
for  the  cruelty  practised  on  its  ancestor." 

1305  (33  Edward  I).— Petition  made  to  the  Prince 
of  Wales  at  Kennington,  by  Grifl&n  Vychan  and  others, 
that  they  had  been  compelled  to  pay  four  marks 
yearly  by  Roger  de  Puleston,  Viscount  of  Anglesey; 
which  was  inquired  into  by  John  de  Havering,  late 
Justice  of  North  Wales,  and  certified  to  be  unjust, 
under  the  seals  of  a  jury  of  twenty-four.     (Emral  MS.) 

In  a  writ,  dated  from  Berwick-upon-Tweed,  4th 
July,  7  Edward  II,  the  King  pardons  Adas  Goch  de 
Worthynbury  pro  morte  Joh'nis  de  Cornyfer,  et  Rog'i 
le  Maillour  de  Ov'ton  Madoc,  and  for  all  transgressions 
in  our  reign  or  the  last.  [Does  this  refer  to  the  death 
of  Roger  Puleston  ?]    (Broughton  MSS.) 

The  Rev.  J.  H.  Ward,  of  Gussage  St.  Michael, 
Dorset,  thinks  that  Emral  may,  in  British  or  Phoe- 
nician times,  have  been  a  re/ici/o?  {Iocils  consecratus)^ 
and  he  notices  that  the  French  name  for  Stonehenge 
is  vH'PV^f  the  letters  of  which,  in  their  numerical  value, 
make  up  the  cycle  366. 


297 


EEPOKTS  ON   LLANIO  AND  ON  CHUllCH 

RESTORATION. 

BY  J.    W.    WILLIS-BUND,  F.S.A. 

( Reprinted  from  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Antiquariee,  Dec.  1,  1887,  by 
permission  of  the  CouncUy  and  wUh  the  Author*s  sanction,) 


LLANIO. 

So  far  as  I  am  aware,  no  detailed  description  of  the 
Roman  station  at  Llauio,  in  the  parish  of  Llanddewi- 
brefi,  Cardiganshire,  has  ever  been  given  to  the  Society. 
The  inscribed  stones  that  have  been  found  here  have 
been  the  subject  of  much  speculation;  but  I  have  only 
been  able  to  find  allusions  to  the  place,  and  no  regular 
account  of  it,  or  of  the  articles  which  have  been  found 
there  from  time  to  time,  in  the  Society's  Proceedings. 
I  have  therefore  ventured  to  bring  together  in  this 
paper  such  information  as  I  could  collect  from  previous 
writers  and  from  local  inquiries. 

Llanio-isa  is  situated  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Teifi 
(Tuerobius),  close  to  the  Manchester  and  Milford  Rail- 
way, between  Tregaron  and  Lampeter,  about  a  mile 
on  the  Lampeter  side  of  the  Pont  Llanio  Station.  It 
is  about  seven  miles  from  Lampeter,  and  three  from 
Tregaron.  It  may  be  questionable  whether  or  not  it 
is  the  ancient  Loventium  mentioned  thus  by  Ptolemy: 
"Again,  south  from  the  countries  before  mentioned, 
but  in  the  most  western  part,  are  the  DimetsB,  among 
whom  are  these  towns:  Loventium,  long.  15°  45',  lat. 
55°  10';  Maridunum,  long.  15°  30',  lat.  55°  40'.  More 
easterly  than  these  are  the  Silyres,  whose  town  is 
BuUseum;"  but  that  it  was  a  Roman  station  of  some 
importance  is  clear  from  the  extent  of  ground  it  occu- 
pied. It  was  situate  at  the  junction  of  two  roads,  one 
from   Maridunum  (Carmarthen),   which   followed   the 


298  LLANIO. 

course  of  the  Teifi,  and  of  which  traces  can  still  be 
seen  near  Llanbyther,  at  Maes-y-Gaer,^  and  Lampeter; 
the  other,  the  Sam  Helen,  so  called,  according  to  the 
local  tradition,  from  having  been  made  by  a  Roman 
empress  named  Helen,*  which  started  from  Llanfair- 
arybryn  (Llandovery),'  passed  by  Caio,  the  gold  mines 
of  Gogofau,  a  Roman  villa  at  a  place  called  "Tre 
Goch",*  found  and  destroyed  about  1876,  followed  the 
valley  of  the  Twrch,  by  the  modern  villages  of  Farmers, 
Llanycrwys,  thence  over  Craig  Twrch  to  Llanfair- 
clydogau,  and  proceeding  northwards  crossed  the  Teifi 
to  Llanio.  From  Llanio  it  proceeds  still  northwards 
past  Llanbadarnodwyn  and  a  fort  called  Pen-y-Gaer, 
or  Garni Iwyd,  by  another  large  fort  known  as  Castell 
Flemish,  and  thence  on  to  the  mineral  district  of 
North  Cardiganshire.  The  line  of  road,  so  far  as  it 
can  now  be  clearly  traced,  is  marked  on  the  Ordnance 
Map.  In  parts  this  road  is  still  well  defined,  as  on 
the  north  side  from  Pen-y-Gaer  to  Llanio,  and  on  the 
south  from  Llanfairclydogau  to  the  Carmarthenshire 
boundary;  here  it  is  hardly  altered,  and  it  is  said* 
that  up  to  a  few  years  before  1861  this  part  of  the 
road  was  in  admirable  preservation,  twenty  feet  broad, 
and  well  barrelled  towards  the  middle ;  but  the  Car- 
diganshire magistrates  sitting  at  Lampeter  ordered  it 
to  be  destroyed,  in  spite  of  the  remonstrances  of  their 
surveyor. 

The  approaches  to  Llanio  were  well  guarded ;  on 
the  northern  side  was  the  strong  camp  of  Castell 
Flemish,  a  fort  which  is  still  in  a  fair  state  of  preserva- 
tion. About  a  mile  nearer  Llanio  on  the  other  side  of 
the  valley  is  Pen-y-Gaer,  a  fort  of  which  but  little 
remains,  but  from  its  position  it  must  have  been 
strong.  On  the  east,  about  two  miles  up  the  Teifi,  is 
Tomen  Llanio ;  but  this,  if  a  fort,  is  probably  not  a 

^  Arch.  Camh^  4th  Ser.,  vol.  ix,  p.  344. 

2  Wright,  The  Celt,  the  Romany  and  the  Saxon,  p.  144. 

^  Arch,  Camh.y  4th  Ser.,  vol.  ix,  p.  320. 

4  Iblil  5  Uul^  vol.  vii,  p.  309. 


LLANIO.  299 

Roman  work.  Where  the  valley  of  the  Dulas  narrows, 
about  two  miles  from  Lampeter,  are  two  forts,  one  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  valley  called  Gaer,  close  to 
where  the  Deny  Ormond  column  stands  :  the  one  on 
the  opposite  bank,  called  Castell  Goytre,  a  large  and 
fairly  perfect  fort ;  while  guarding  the  Teifi  valley  are 
two  forts,  one  on  each  bank,  that  on  the  right  bank 
known  as  Castell  AUt  Goch,  and  that  on  the  left  as 
Caernau.  All  of  these  are  marked  on  the  Ordnance 
Map.  On  the  south,  above  Llanfairclydogau,  just 
where  the  Sarn  Helen  turns  off  over  the  mountain,  at  a 
place  not  marked  on  the  Ordnance  Map  called  Panteg,^ 
is  a  small  square  fort  or  camp,  in  good  preservation, 
about  36  yards  long  by  28  yards  wide  ;  the  banks 
have  been  partly  cultivated  away,  but  enough  still 
remains  to  show  very  plainly  its  extent,  and  the  four 
entrances  opposite  each  other  are  evident.  It  will 
thus  be  seen  that  on  each  side  the  approach  to  Llanio 
was  carefully  guarded ;  so  it  may  fairly  be  inferred  it 
was  a  station  of  some  importance.  It  is  difficult  to 
trace  the  Sarn  Helen  from  Llanfairclydogau  to  Llanio ; 
local  tradition  says  the  road  crossed  the  Teifi  by  a 
bridge  near  a  farm  called  Godregarth,  and  that  when 
the  river  is  very  low  the  foundations  of  the  bridge  can 
still  be  seen.  I  have,  however,  looked  in  vain  for 
them.  In  a  dry  summer  the  line  of  the  road  is  said 
to  be  very  plain  between  Llanio  and  the  river.  This 
summer  (1887)  the  site  of  the  road  could  be  clearly 
traced  from  the  grass  burning  up  across  a  pasture  field 
on  it  sooner  than  in  other  places.  This  field  adjoined 
the  railway,  and  the  burnt  part  of  the  field  went  in  a 
straight  line  towards  the  river  for  the  reputed  site  of 
the  bridge.  In  a  field  between  the  two  points,  but 
also  in  this  line,  traces  of  the  road,  i.e.,  paving-stones, 
were  found  in  October  1887,  when  ploughing.  To  be 
able  to  fix  the  line  of  the  road  is  important,  as  show- 
ing the  route  the  Sarn  Helen  took  between  the  two 
portions  that  now  remain,  and  also  as  showing  that 

^  Arch,  Camh,,  4th  Ser.,  vol.  ix,  p.  32(5;  vol.  x,  p.  5(5. 


300  LLANIO. 

the  station  was  a  far  larger  one  than  has  been  usually 
supposed ;  for  Caer  Castell,  where  the  inscribed  stones 
were  said  to  have  been  found,  and  the  site  of  the 
buildings  where  the  excavations  have  taken  place,  are 
at  least  some  two  or  three  hundred  yards  away  from 
the  road,  and  from  some  buildings  found  this  autumn 
and  from  the  road  it  is  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to 
the  other  side  of  the  station.  Caer  Castell,  which  is 
always  pointed  out  as  the  site  of  the  station,  was 
probably  that  of  the  camp.  On  one  side  of  it  are 
some  faint  traces  of  embankment,  and  in  it  stones 
have  been  constantly  found.  It  is  an  arable  field  of 
some  five  acres,  higher  than  the  rest  of  the  surround- 
ing ground.  I  am  told  that  this  year  the  corn 
withered  up  in  two  broad  lines  across  the  field,  the 
lines  crossing  at  right  angles,  a  statement  which,  if 
true,  would  go  to  show  the  existence  of  two  paved 
streets  crossing  each  other  at  right  angles.  Adjoining 
Caer  Castell  on  the  flat  towards  the  river  the  founda- 
tions of  buildings  are  clearly  to  be  seen.  Here  it  was 
that  the  excavations  of  this  year  (1887)  were  made. 

The  fact  of  there  being  a  Roman  station  at  this 
spot  is,  I  believe,  first  noticed  in  Lhwyd's  additions  to 
Gibson's  edition  of  Camden's  Bntannia  (1695).  On 
col.  645  he  figiu^es  two  of  the  inscribed  stones  that 
have  been  found  here,  and  states  :  — 

"  A  Country-man  told  me  there  was  another  [in- 
scription] at  a  house  called  Lhanio4/av,  in  this  parish, 
distant  about  a  mile  from  the  Church.  Being  come 
thither,  I  found  these  two  Inscriptions,  and  was  in- 
formed that  several  others  had  been  discovered  by 
digging,  but  that  the  stones  were  applied  to  some 
uses,  and  the  Inscriptions  not  regarded.'^  He  adds  : 
**  Besides  Roman  Inscriptions,  they  find  here  some- 
times their  coyns,  and  frequently  dig  up  brick  and 
Jarge  free-stone  neatly  wrought.  The  place  where 
these  Antiquities  are  found,  is  called  Kae'r  Ke/lilh, 
which  signifies  Castle-field,  or  to  speak  more  distinctly, 
the  Field  of  Castles;  tho'  at  present  there  remains 


LL4NI0.  301 

not  above  ground  the  least  sign  of  any  building  :  nor 
were  there  any  (for  what  I  could  learn)  within  the 
memory  of  any  person  now  living  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, or  of  their  Fathers  or  Grandfathers.  However, 
seeing  it  is  thus  calFd,  and  that  it  affords  also  such 
manifest  marks  of  its  being  once  inhabited  by  the 
Romans,  we  have  little  or  no  reason  to  doubt,  but 
that  they  had  a  Fort  or  Garison,  if  not  a  considerable 
Town  at  this  place.  And  that  being  granted,  it  will 
also  appear  highly  probable,  that  what  we  now  call 
Lhanio,  was  the  very  same  with  that  which  Ptolemy 
places  in  the  Country  of  the  Dimetae,  by  the  name  of 
Lovantinurrij  or  (as  Mr.  Camden  reads  it)  Lovantium. 
If  any  shall  urge,  that  to  suppose  it  only  a  Castle,  and 
not  a  City  or  Town  of  note,  is  to  grant  it  not  to  have 
been  the  old  Lovantium;  I  answer,  that  perhaps  we 
do  but  commit  a  vulgar  Error,  when  we  take  all  the 
Stations  in  the  Itinerary,  and  Burroughs  of  Ptolemy, 
for  considerable  Towns  or  Cities;  it  being  not  im- 
probable, but  that  many  of  them  might  have  been 
only  Forts  or  Castles  with  the  addition  of  a  few 
Houses,  as  occasion  required." 

Meyrick,  in  his  Histoiy  of  Cardiganshire  (1810),  p. 
272,  gives  the  following  account  of  the  place:  "Llanio- 
issa  was  formerly  the  ancient  Loventium  of  the  Romans, 
and  a  considerable  station  on  the  great  western  road 
called  Sam  EUen,  between  Maridunum,  or  Caermar- 
then,  and  Penallt,  near  Machynlleth.  Several  coins 
and  culinary  utensils  have  been  dug  up  here,  and 
three  Roman  inscribed  stones  are  built  up  in  the  walla 
of  two  cottages  on  this  spot.  .  .  .  Almost  the  whole  of 
this  place  is  covered  with  the  fragments  of  the  finest 
brick,  which  the  Romans  must  have  brought  with 
them.  There  are  also  some  small  remains  of  pieces  of 
brickwork  and  lime  mixed  with  common  stone  still  to 
be  seen ;  and  one  entire  piece,  having  its  surface 
smooth  and  polished,  was  taken  up  not  long  ago,  and 
placed  at  the  bottom  of  an  oven  then  making  in  a 
neighbouring  mill,  where  it  still  remains.     In  one  of 


302  LLANIO. 

the  grounds  of  this  farm  a  large  piece  of  unshapen 
lead  was  dug  up,  which,  when  melted,  weighed  six- 
teen pounds.  There  is  a  piece  of  ground  to  the  south- 
east of  the  farmhouse  called  'Cae'r  CastelF,  or  the 
'  field  of  the  Castle',  in  which  are  still  the  remains  of 
the  foundations  of  buildings." 

All  subsequent  writers  have  practically  adopted  this 
inaccurate  description  of  Meyrick's  in  their  account  of 
Llanio ;  it  is  the  one  that  is  found  in  the  South  Wales 
guide-books  of  the  present  day.  Tt  is  obviously  the 
basis  of  the  following  description  by  the  Rev.  H.  L. 
Jones,  written  in  July  1861,  and  which  appears  in  the 
ArchcBologia  Cambrensis  for  that  year.^  He  says : 
"Any  casual  observer  might  visit  this  spot  without 
perceiving  that  he  was  on  the  site  of  a  Roman  town  at 
least  as  large  as  Lampeter  of  the  present  day.  Some 
faint  traces  of  embankment  may  be  observed  on  and 
about  Cae'r  Castell ;  but  it  is  on  the  flat  towards  the 
river  that  you  must  look  for  foundations  of  houses. 
Here  the  tenant  of  the  farm,  a  person  of  intelligence 
and  courtesy,  pointed  out  to  us  the  sites  of  several 
buildings.  Here  they  dug  up  for  us  stones  and  mortar 
of  walls,  still  in  their  courses,  under  ground ;  here 
they  showed  us  how  the  soil  of  the  surrounding  fields 
was  filled  with  bricks,  and  where  lumps  or  weights  of 
lead  had  been  discovered." 

In  1878,  at  their  Lampeter  Meeting,  the  Cambrian 
Archaeological  Society  visited  Llanio,  and  give  this 
description  of  it:*  **At  Llanio  traces  could  be  seen  of 
portions  of  the  Roman  camp,  Loventium,  and  in  all 
directions  pieces  of  Roman  brick  and  mortar;  but 
much  excavation  will  have  to  be  done  before  any 
satisfactory  account  can  be  given  of  it.*' 

Both  these  accounts  are  incorrect  in  describing  pieces 
of  Roman  bricks  and  mortar  as  being  found  in  all 
directions.  They  are  only  found,  as  far  aa  I  can  make 
out,  in  one  place,  the  flat  towards  the  river,  where  the 

^  Arch,  Camb,,  3rd  Ser.,  vol.  vii,  p.  312. 
2  Ibid.^  4tli  Ser.,  vol.  ix,  p.  353. 


LLANIO.  303 

recent  excavations  have  been  made.      In  the  other 
fields  stones  are  often  found,  but  no  bricks. 

Before  describing  the  excavations  it  will  be  as  well 
to  mention  some  of  the  things  that  have  been  found 
at  Llanio  from  time  to  time.  As  far  as  I  can  ascer- 
tain, very  little  record  remains  of  what  has  hitherto 
been  found,  and  the  things  themselves  are  all  dis- 
persed or  lost.  I  leave  the  inscribed  stones  to  a  later 
part  of  the  paper. 

The  most  interesting  and  most  curious  find  is  a 
wooden  female  head  (which,  by  the  courtesy  of  the 
owner,  Mr.  S.  Jones  of  Llanio  Fawr,  I  am  able  to 
exhibit  here  to-night),  found  some  years  ago,  when 
digging  peat  in  a  field  called  Caer  Gwyrfil,  which 
adjoins  Caer  Castell.  The  head  is  fully  described  and 
figured  in  a  paper  in  ArchcBologia  Camhrensis}  It  is 
said  to  be  of  birch,*  and,  notwithstanding  it  is  in  a 
most  wonderful  state  of  preservation,  it  is  suggested 
it  is  of  Roman  origin.  "The  careful  and  artistic 
braiding  of  the  hair,  from  the  forehead  to  the  back  of 
the  head,  with  the  cavities  in  the  place  of  eyes,  sug- 
gested that  the  head  was  not  of  modern  workmanship, 
and  led  to  the  inference,  when  the  place  of  its  find 
was  taken  into  account,  that  it  may  be  Roman.  A 
socket-hole  extends  from  the  collar  upwards  into  the 
neck,  which  apparently  served  to  fix  the  head  on  the 
body  of  the  figure  or  statuette  to  which  it  belonged ; 
but  there  are  no  rivet-holes  or  signs  of  any  other 
mode  of  attachment.  On  examination  the  right  side 
of  the  head  appears  to  be  smooth  and  perfect,  while 
the  surface  of  the  left  side  is  slightly  abraded.  This 
may  be  accounted  for  by  the  supposition  that  the  left 
side  was  that  exposed  to  the  atmosphere  on  its  deposit. 
Mr.  Jones  said  that  there  were  *  hands  with  part  of 

^  4!tli  Ser.,  vol.  x,  p.  81. 

'  In  a  discassion  that  took  place  upon  this  paper,  the  President, 
Dr.  Evans,  suggested  the  head  was  of  yew,  alluding  to  the  fact  that 
yew  in  a  fairly  preserved  state  has  been  found  in  the  Swiss  lake- 
dwellings. 


304  LLAKIO. 

an  arm'  belonging  to  the  head,  but  they  had  been  lost 
many  years." 

In  the  same  field,  Caer  Gwyrfil  (?  Milwyr,  i.e., 
soldiers'  field),  there  was  formerly  a  large  sepulchral 
mound,  full  of  bones,  that  was  carted  away  a  few 
years  before  1878  as  compost  for  the  fields.^ 

The  Manchester  and  Milford  Railway  passes  through 
a  part  of  the  station,  and,  as  it  was  being  made  in 
1865,  a  good  many  fragments  of  pottery  are  said  to 
have  been  discovered ;  one  large  perfect  vessel  was 
found,  but  was  taken  away  by  the  sub-contractor  to 
adorn  his  London  house.  Although  I  have  made  such 
inquiries  as  I  could  about  it,  I  have  never  been  able 
to  trace  it. 

Except  a  small  silver  coin  found  in  1886  (which  a 
stranger  took  possession  of  and  carried  away),  the 
finding  of  fragments  of  brick  now  and  then,  and  when 
ploughing  for  potatoes  (when  the  ground  is  ploughed 
much  deeper  than  usual)  the  turning  up  large  stones, 
I  have  been  unable  to  ascertain  that  anything  of 
importance  has  been  discovered  until  the  spring  of 
1887. 

Adjoining  Caer  Castell  to  the  east,  but  at  a  much 
lower  level  in  the  flat  towards  the  river,  is  a  field,  at 
the  lower  end  of  which  are  the  traces  of  at  least  three 
buildings,  and  it  is  in  one  of  these — the  one  to  the 
east,  nearest  the  garden  of  the  farmhouse — that  the 
excavations  were  made,  in  the  spring  of  1887,  by  Mr. 
Lloyd  Williams.  He  has  kindly  supplied  me  with  the 
following  account  of  his  proceedings  : — 

''Operations  were  begun  on  an  oval-shaped  mound, 
situated  in  a  marshy  field  below  the  farm-buildings. 
Mr.  Jones,  of  Llanio  Vawr,  mentioned  that  this  mound 
had  been  pointed  out  to  him,  by  a  party  of  the  Cam- 
brian archaeologists  who  visited  Llanio  during  the 
Lampeter  Meeting  of  1878,  as  the  probable  position  of 
a  bath  in  some  way  connected  with  the  Roman  camp 
on  Caer  Castell.     Several  cuttings  were  made  across 

^  Arch.  Camh,,  4th  Ser.,  vol.  ix,  p.  353. 


LLANIO.  305 

i 

the  narrower  end,  in  the  hope  of  coming  to  a  wall,  but 
nothing  was  turned  up,  with  the  exception  of  some 
loose  stones  and  broken  bricks,  among  the  latter  of 
which,  however,  was  found  a  small  portion  of  what 
appears  to  have  been  an  earthenware  vessel.  Further 
search  in  another  direction  resulted  in  the  discovery 
of  a  wall  about  three  feet  thick,  and  by  following  this 
a  cross-wall  was  reached  extending  at  right  angles 
either  way.  By  working  along  the  walls  a  room  was 
eventually  traced  out ;  oyster-shells  and  pieces  of 
iron,  T-shaped,  used  probably  to  fix  the  tiling,  were 
found  along  this  part,  and  here  and  there  bones,  some 
of  which  are  pronounced  to  be  human  remains.  It 
was  decided,  on  discovering  this  room,  that  for  the 
present  the  work  should  be  confined  to  clearing  out 
the  space  within  its  four  walls.  This  occupied  several 
days,  and  the  materials  found  inside  give  indications 
of  there  having  been  a  great  downfall  of  masonry, 
etc.,  at  some  time  or  other.  Most  of  the  brickwork 
within  two  feet  of  the  surface  was  completely  shat- 
tered, and  it  was  difficult  at  first  to  establish  any  con- 
jecture as  to  the  nature  of  the  building  ;  but  a  careful 
removal  of  the  soil  leaves  little  doubt  that  it  formed 
part  of  a  heating  arrangement  or  hypocaust,  constructed, 
as  far  as  can  be  made  out,  somewhat  as  follows :  the 
lowest  portion  of  the  ground  floor  is  laid  in  large 
bricks ;  over  this  a  pavement  of  rough  stones,  placed 
on  end  and  embedded  in  clay,  on  which  are  supported 
short  pillars  about  seven  inches  high.  The  pillars, 
formed  of  flat  bricks,  are  almost  a  foot  apart,  running 
in  parallel  lines  about  nine  deep.  In  the  space  between 
the  pillars  were  broken  portions  of  flue-tiles,  that  is, 
square  brick  troughs  of  baked  clay  with  holes,  in  some 
cases  one,  in  others  two,  on  opposite  sides.  A  few  of 
them  are  preserved  in  good  condition.  Large  quan- 
tities of  soot  were  also  distinctly  traceable.  The  large 
slabs  which  abound  in  the  dibrts,  and  which  show 
signs  of  great  exposure  to  heat,  must  have  rested  on 
the  pillars,  and  the  masses  of  concrete  lying  about  in 
all  directions  were  probably  laid  over  all." 


306  LLANIO. 

Mr.  Lloyd  Williams,  in  a  letter  to  me,  adds : — 
"The  pillars  are  nine  deep,  and  about  one  foot 
apart;  but  I  am  uncertain  about  the  number  of  parallel 
rows,  and  I  am  inclined  to  think  there  must  have 
been  a  passage  at  one  end,  most  probably  the  one  due 
west  in  the  drawing.  The  sketch  gives  a  good  idea  of 
the  apartment  as  it  stands,  so  I  send  it,  and  will  get 
its  accuracy  more  fully  tested. 

"In  addition  to  what  I  mentioned,  a  small  piece  of 
polished  marble  was  discovered,  and  some  stone  re- 
sembling Bath,  showing  signs  of  workmanship.  I 
have  with  me  the  best  specimens  of  what  may  be 
picked  up  in  plenty  on  the  spot ;  but  what  I  have  is, 
perhaps,  in  a  better  state  of  preservation." 
^  What  I  found  on  examining  the  spot  about  six 
weeks  after  the  excavations  were  finished  was  a  room 
18  by  20  feet  (inside  measure).  At  about  18  inches 
from  the  surface  there  was  a  wall  of  rough  stones 
(slate  flags  they  would  be  called  now) ;  it  is  the  local 
stone  of  the  district.  This  wall  came  to  within  a  few 
inches  of  the  surface  at  some  points,  but  was  nowhere 
more  than  18  inches  below  it.  The  wall  would  have 
been  abojut  3  feet  high.  In  the  west  side  there  were 
two  openings  at  each  end  about  5  feet  wide,  the  one 
on  the  north  being  level  with  the  floor.  That  on  the 
south  was  not  excavated  to  the  floor.  There  was  also 
a  similar  opening  in  the  north-east  comer.  I  was  un- 
able to  measure  the  thickness  of  the  walls  (except  at 
the  north-east  corner,  where  the  wall  was  4  feet 
thick),  as  the  soil  that  had  been  excavated  was  thrown 
out  too  close  to  the  walls.  The  south  side  wall  was 
carried  on  for  some  little  distance  (10  feet  or  so) 
beyond  the  south  wall  of  the  room ;  but  the  excavation 
had  not  been  sufficiently  carried  out  to  show  if  there 
was  another  room  to  the  south,  or  why  the  wall  was  so 
carried  on.  The  floor  of  the  room  is  formed  of  large 
red  bricks  or  flooring-tiles ;  those  t  measured  were  20 
by  17  inches,  and  some  were  very  light,  and  others 
exceptionally  heavy.     On  some  of  them  there  was  a 


LLANIO.  307 

circular  pattern.^  I  did  not  find  any  fitted  so  as  to 
see  if  the  circle  wa&  made  into  any  pattern  on  the 
floor.  Some  of  these  tiles  were  in  situ.  On  this  floor 
were  placed  bricks  about  16  to  18  inches  apart,  which 
carried  a  row  of  slate  slabs  similar  to  those  that 
formed  the  walls,  but  not  so  thick;  on  this  came  a 
layer  of  concrete  about  8  to  10  inches  thick,  com- 
prised of  fragments  of  brick  and  lime.  Both  these 
materials  must  have  come  from  a  distance,  as  now  all 
the  lime  required  for  agricultural  purposes  is  brought 
by  railway,  and  before  the  railways  were  made  it 
had  to  be  brought  by  ponies  or  in  carts  from  the 
Black  Mountain,  on  the  other  side  of  Carmarthen- 
shire, a  distance  of  over  thirty  miles.  There  is  no 
brick  nor  soil  for  making  brick  in  the  neighbour- 
hood ;  the  nearest  brick- works  now  in  use  are  some 
distance  away,  below  Llanbyther.  On  the  top  of  the 
concrete  came  the  flue-tiles  made  of  clay.  I  did  not, 
unfortunately,  see  them  in  situ^  so  cannot  say  how 
they  were  placed.  Then  came  a  layer  of  mortar,  a 
mixture  of  lime  and  the  river-sand,  probably  from  the 
Teifi,  and  on  that  a  tiled  floor.  I  must  state  that  I 
did  not  see  the  room  when  it  was  excavated,  and  I 
have  taken  my  description  from  the  remains  I  found 
at  my  visit.  Some  of  the  stone  flags  are  still  fixed 
in  the  concrete,  and  the  flue-pipes  have  marks  of  con- 
crete on  the  one  side  and  mortar  on  the  other,  and 
some  of  the  tiles  have  mortar  on  them.  The  bricks 
are  standing  on  the  tiles,  and  are  said  to  be  in  the 
same  place  as  found.  On  the  west  side  there  are  still 
some  remains  of  the  tiles,,  bricks,  stone  flags,  and  con- 
crete in  situ.  The  walls  of  the  room,  which  would  be 
below  the  tiled  floor,  are  very  rough,  and  are  made  of 
the  local  flag-stones  and  mortar.  It  would  seem  that 
the  stone-flags  were  let  into  them,  as  at  places  they 
are  broken  off,  with  the  ends  still  remaining  in  the 
walls. 

^  See  similar  design  on  tile  found  in  London.  (Wright,  The  GeU, 
the  Boman,  and  the  Saxon,  p.  156.) 

5th  sbr.,  vol.  v.  22 


308  LLANIO. 

The  tiles  fonning  the  lower  floor  have  previously 
been  mentioned.  They  are  red  clay  tiles  with  two 
marks,  one,  the  most  usual,  the  circle  already  de- 
scribed. A  fragment  of  one  of  them  has  a  double 
circle.  Most  of  these  tiles  remain  in  situ ;  only  a  few 
appear  to  have  been  removed.  On  fragments  of  some 
that  are  lying  about  is  a  hook-shaped  mark;  but  this 
is  far  less  common  than  the  circular  mark. 

On  the  next  sized  tiles,  those  that  rested  on  the 
flooring-tiles  and  carried  the  bricks,  I  could  find  no 
mark  at  all.  They  were  slightly  depressed  towards 
the  centre,  and  in  the  hollow  the  mortar  seems  to 
have  been  placed.  The  bricks  had  several  patterns, 
of  which  the  circle  before  mentioned  was  by  far  the 
most  common.  One  had  the  circle  and  a  line  crossing 
it,  making  a  rude  cross.  ^  Some  of  «the  others  had  a 
mark  like  a  §;  but  the  greater  part  of  these  had  no 
mark  upon  tnem. 

The  flue-tiles  were  of  various  sizes,  and  of  two  dis- 
tinct kinds;  one  made  of  red  and  the  other  of  a 
yellowish  clay ;  but  neither  of  these  kinds  of  clay  are 
to  be  found  within  some  miles  of  the  place.  The  tiles 
were  generally  of  a  uniform  width  of  about  5  inches 
inside,  but  some  were  narrowed  to  about  2  inches  at 
the  one  end.  I  only  saw  one  piece  of  a  flue  in  any- 
thing like  its  original  state,  and  this  was  about  2  feet 
long.* 

Some  few  of  the  tiles  had  some  rough  marks  on 
them,  a  sort  of  rough  cross-pattern;  this  was,  how- 
ever, the  exception ;  most  of  them  had  nothing.'^ 


3 


^  See  a  similar  one  in  The  Gelt^  the  Romany  and  the  Saxony  p.  155. 

^  Sabseqnentlj  taken  away  by  Mr.  Rogers  of  Abermenrig. 

^  Wright,  in  The  Oelt,  the  Boman,  and  the  Saxon^  pp.  155,  156, 
gives  figures  of  tiles  from  Dover  (Dubris)  whioh  are  of  the  same 
shape,  and  similar  to  these  tiles.  A  flanged  tile  figured  on  p.  156 
has  the  circolar  mark  referred  to  above.  This  tile  came  from  Lon- 
don. He  adds  that  tiles  from  Sonth  Wales  have  the  inscription, 
LEO  11  AVG  (Legio  2a  Augnsta).  None  with  this  mark  have  as  yet 
been  found  at  Llanio.  The  cross-work  and  the  cross  are  figured, 
pp.  154,155,  as  being  marked  on  the  facing  of  the  stone  of  Hadrian's 


LLANIO.  309 

The  tiles  that  formed  the  top  floor  seem  to  have 
been  made  of  a  different  clay  and  some  vitreous  sub- 
stance^ and  are  much  harder  than  the  others.  On 
some  of  them  there  is  the  same  circular  pattern  already 
noticed,  only  here  it  sometimes  takes  the  form  of 
three  circles.  One  fragment  had  a  raised  moulding 
roimd  the  edge.  The  whole  of  the  ground  round  the 
place  excavated  is  covered  with  bricks  and  fragments 
of  the  tiles  that  were  dug  up,  and,  although  I  made  a 
careful  search,  I  cannot  pretend  to  have  made  an 
exhaustive  examination ;  but  I  think  I  have  men- 
tioned all  the  prevailing  marks.  Unfortunately,  the 
place  was  left  without  any  protection  or  fencing,  and 
the  result  is  that,  what  with  cows,  visitors,  and 
boys,  by  October  the  excavated  portion  was  nearly 
destroyed. 

I  went  again  carefully  over  the  room  in  October, 
but  found  nothing  more  to  notice ;  but  about  half- 
way along  the  west  wall  I  dug  up  a  large  quantity  of 
soot  and  a  few  fragments  of  bone.  In  the  south-west 
comer  I  began  a  small  excavation,  to  see  if  the  south 
wall  was  continuous ;  it  appears  to  go  on  in  a  westerly 
direction.  I  found  fragments  of  broken  bricks  and 
tiles  arranged  in  the  same  order  as  those  above  de- 
scribed; a  large  piece  of  concrete,  two  small  frag- 
ments of  whitish  pottery,  some  iron  T-nails,  a  piece  of 
glass,  and  some  fragments  of  bone.  The  wall  appears 
to  be  continuous ;  but  I  had  not  time  to  carry  my 
excavation  very  far. 

The  day  before  1  left,  as  a  man  was  ploughing  in  a 
field  to  the  right  rather  deeper  than  usual,  he  struck 
the  stones  of  the  Roman  road.  I  say  this  because  the 
stones  were  obviously  paving-stones,  and  placed  as 
part  of  a  pavement  about  15  inches  below  the  surface, 
and,  on  their  being  removed,  no  trace  of  building  was 
to  be  found  underneath.     The  man  also  came  upon  a 

Wall.     Mr.  Wright  adds,  the  tiles  are  always  scored  in  patterns  of 

great  variety,  apparently  for  the  purpose  of  being  fixed  more  tena- 

cionsly  by  the  mortar. 

22 « 


310  LLANIO. 

fragment  of  a  wall  built  with  very  large  stones.  I 
had  it  excavated  some  depth  down,  but  only  found 
pieces  of  charcoal,  bone,  and  fragments  of  oak  board, 
very  thin,  and  a  nail  or  two ;  there  was  no  brick  or 
pottery,  and  I  was  unable  to  trace  the  wall  in  any 
direction.  This  building  would  be  a  few  yards  from 
where  the  Roman  road  passed  on  its  way  to  the  Teifi. 

The  specimens  of  bricks,  etc.,  which  I  produce  are 
fairly  illustrative  of  the  bricks  and  tiles  found.  There 
are  some  bricks  very  much  larger,  20  by  1 7  inches ; 
but  the  majority  of  the  fragments  are  such  as  I  have 
brought. 

I  shall  hope  to  continue  the  excavations  in  a  more 
systematic  manner  another  year. 

Before  concluding  this  paper  I  must  say  a  word  as 
to  the  inscribed  stones.  At  present  there  are  three, 
all  figured  by  Meyrick,  and  also  by  Westwood,  Lap. 
Wall,  part  iv,  pi.  71,  fig.  3 ;  pi.  78,  figs.  1  and  2. 

The  first  is  the  Ennius  stone ;  it  is  1 1  inches  high, 
and  6  inches  wide ;  it  consists  of  the  following  three- 
line  inscription,  with  the  ordinary  border: — 

>  ARTISM  ) 
BNNIVS 
PRIMVS. 

It  is  figured  in  Gibson's  Camden  by  Lhwyd,  who  says 
that  he  reads  it  "  Caij  Artij  Manihus  (aut  fortfe 
memoriis)  Ennius  Primus'*.  Meyrick  (1810)  also  figures 
it  at  pi.  V,  fig.  7,  and  speaks  of  its  being  built  in  the 
wall  by  the  side  of  the  door  of  a  cottage.  It  was 
removed  thence,  and  disappeared  for  some  years,  but, 
at  the  meeting  of  the  Cambrian  Archaeological  Asso- 
ciation at  Lampeter,  in  1878,  Mr.  J.  N.  Davies,  of 
Aberystwith,  sent  it  to  the  local  museum  then  formed 
at  Lampeter,  and  after  the  meeting  it  was  deposited 
in  the  library  of  St.  David  s  College,  where  it  still  is. 
This  stone  is  also  figured  by  Hubner,  Inscriptiones 
BritannicB  LatincB,  Berlin,  1873,  p.  44,  as  '*No.  148 
intra  tabellam  ansatam".  The  inscription  is  given  in- 
correctly as — 


LLANIO.  311 

^ARTIM 
ENNIVS 
PRIMVS 

As  Hubner's  book  was  published  at  the  time  the  stone 
had  disappeared,  his  account  is  taken  from  Meyrick, 
whose  plates  and  accounts  of  inscriptions  are  most  in- 
accurate. Hiibner  says  of  No..  148:  *'Latet  fortasse 
o{centuria)  martialis?  Ennius  Primus  (fecit).'^  West- 
wood,  Lapidarium  WallicB,  p.  142,  describes  this  stone, 
which  he  figures,  pi.  Ixxviii,  fig.  2. 

The  second  stone  is  also  figured  by  Lhwyd  in  Gib- 
son s  Camden,  and  by  Meyrick,  pi.  v,  fig.  8,  who  says : 
"Another  stone,  on  a  chimney  of  another  cottage,  is 
to  be  read  overioni."  This  stone  is  now  built  into 
the  wall  of  the  farmhouse,  near  the  back  door;  it  is 
about  14  inches  long,  and  4  inches  wide.  Lhwyd 
and  Meyrick  both  give  the  inscription  incorrectly  as 
OVERIONI,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  rubbing  I  produce, 
which  I  made  in  October;  it  is— 

lOVERIONI, 

An  account  of  this  stone,  with  an  engraving,  with  the 
incorrect  inscription,  is  published  by  Professor  West- 
wood  in  Archceologia  Camhrensis  (4th  Ser.,  vol.  ii,  p. 
263),  the  figures  being  taken  from  rubbings  supplied 
to  him  by  the  Rev.  H.  L.  Jones,  who  made  them  on 
July  16,  1861.  Mr.  Jones,  in  a  paper  in  the  ArchcBo- 
logia  Camhrensis  (3rd  Ser.,  vol.  vii,  1861,  p.  312), 
says  the  stone  was  on  the  east  wall  of  the  house, 
above  the  horse-block,  having  the  rudely-executed 
name  of  overioni. 

In  the  ArchcBologia  Camhrensis,  Professor  West- 
wood  says:  "Amongst  the  many  Roman  inscriptions 
found  at  Llanio  i  Sav,  close  to  Llandewi  Brefi,  Car- 
diganshire, is  one  of  which  an  engraving  is  here  pre- 
sented, representing  the  name  overioni,  inscribed 
within  an  oblong  space,  defined  by  incised  lines,  about 
13  inches  long  by  3  inches  high.  The  letters  are 
thin,  tall,  and  ill-formed." 


312  LLANIO. 

The  stone  is  also  figured  by  Hiibner  as  No.  149. 
He  gives  ©verioni,  giving  Lhwyd  and  Meyrick  as 
his  authorities;  he  adds  Wo.  149,  "est  o{centuria) 
Verioni  {V)" 

Westwood,  in  his  Lapidarium  WallicB,  describes  the 
stone,  and  figures  it  pi.  Ixxi,  fig.  3  (the  figure  is  not 
quite  correct,  the  R  and  i  being  conjoined,  as  well  as 
the  V  and  e),  and  gives  an  account  of  it  at  p.  142. 
He  says  the  stone  **is  now  built  into  the  east  wall  of 
one  of  the  farm-buildings,  about  15  feet  from  the 
ground  above  the  horse-block."  To  obviate  any  mis- 
take in  the  future,  it  may  be  pointed  out  that  it  is  into 
the  wall  of  the  house,  near  the  back  door,  not  that  of 
the  farm-buildings,  that  the  stone  is  built,  and  it  has 
been  there  for  years.  After  remarking  that  in  his  paper 
in  the  Arch.  Camb.  the  inscription  is  given  as  overioni, 
he  says :  "The  stone  is,  however,  injured  at  the  left  end, 
and,  on  examining  it  carefully  during  the  Lampeter 
Meeting  in  August  1878,  we  adopted  the  conclusion 
suggested  by  Mr.  Robinson  (one  of  the  Secretaries  of  the 
Cambrian  Archaeological  Association),  that  the  first 
supposed  letter  was  incomplete,  and  that  its  supposed 
right  side  indicated  a  centurial  mark,  leaving  the  real 
name  verioni." 

As  above  stated,  the  ioterpretation  of  Mr.  Robinson 
was  really  that  suggested  by  Hiibner,  without  seeing 
the  stone.  From  the  rubbing  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
so-called  o  does  not  exist,  that  the  first  letter  has 
been  injured,  and  that  the  stone  appears  to  be  merely 
a  fragment ;  that  what  has  been  taken  for  the  end  of 
the  border  seems  to  be  part  of  a  letter,  and  it  is 
doubtful  whether  the  semicircle  is  the  centurial  mark 
or  the  fragment  of  some  letter,  such  as  D.  It  is  not  a 
matter  of  much  importance ;  but  none  of  the  drawings 
of  this  stone  are  correct,  as  they  do  not  give  both  the 
VE  and  the  Ri  as  conjoined.  Until  the  plate  in  the 
Lapidarium  WallicB  all  the  letters  were  given  sepa- 
rate. The  plate  there  gives  the  ve  conjoined,  but  not 
the  Ri.     The  plate  in  the  Lapidarium  WallicB  repre- 


LLANIO.  813 

sents  the  stone  as  far  too  perfect,  especially  at  the  left 
side.  It  has  every  appearance  of  having  been  broken 
off  at  the  end,  and  not  being  complete,  as  shown  in 
the  plate. 

The  next  stone,  which  Professor  Westwood  calls  the 
legionary  stone,  is  the  most  interesting.  It  was,  I 
believe,  first  mentioned  by  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare,  who,  in 
his  introduction  to  Giraldus  Cambrensis,  vol.  i,  p.  clii, 
says :  "I  had  the  good  fortune  to  decipher  another 
(inscription),  far  more  interesting  than  the  two  former 
(he  is  alluding  to  the  two  stones  already  described), 
which  stands  before  the  threshold  of  the  farm-house. 
If  I  read  it  rightly,  it  appears  to  record  some  work 
done  at  this  place  by  a  cohort  of  the  second  legion, 
COH.  II.  A.  -  -  G.  F  V  p,  Cohors  secunda  (legionis)  Augustce 
fecit  quinque  passits.*^  This  interpretation  of  Sir  R.  C. 
Hoare  has  been  adopted  by  all  or  nearly  all  subse- 
quent writers  until  Mr.  Thompson  Watkin.  Meyrick, 
who  figures  the  stone  in  pi.  v,  fig.  9,  thus  describes  it: 
"  In  the  porch  of  the  house  is  a  very  large  one,  now 
serving  for  a  seat,  and  much  obliterated,  has  on  it — 
*  Cohors  secundse  Augusta  (sic)  fecit  quinque  passus 

/  which  shows  that  a  cohort  of  the  second  legion 

of  Augustus  was  stationed  here,  and  built  a  part  of 
the  walls  of  the  city."  This  statement  of  Meyrick's 
has  been  quoted  over  and  over  again,  but  unfortu- 
nately it  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  make  out 
Meyrick's  inscription  from  the  stone  itself,  and  even 
his  plate  is  difficult  to  understand. 

The  Rev.  J.  L.  Jones,  in  his  visit  in  1861,  thus 
speaks  of  the  stone  :  **  The  other  (is)  in  the  lower  part 
of  the  stable  wall,  thither  removed  from  the  horse- 
block, not  many  years  back,  with  traces  of  two  lines 
of  words  on  it,  but  of  which  OOH  is  almost  the  only 
portion  now  legible."^  If  in  1809  the  stone  was  in 
the  porch,  and  then  in  the  interval  to  1861  removed 
first  to  the  horse-block,  and  then  to  the  stable,  it  is  not 

^  Arch,  Camh.^  3rd  Sen,  vol.  vii,  p.  312. 


314  LLANIO. 

to  be  wondered  at  that  the  inscription  is  now  hardly 
legible.  Hiibner  gives  the  inscription  No.  150,  taking 
it  presumably  from  Meyrick  : — 

COH  THA^  '  TVR 
TAH.  I 

and  stsAes'^ Assoc.  Joum.,  24, 1868,  p.  117,  ubi  n.  150 
cum  n.  148  coniungitur"...  He  adds,  "in  n.  150  talia 
coh[ortis'\  I o[entuna]  Tur\rani  ....]  vel  similia  fuisse 
puto". 

In  the  Laptdarium  WaUicB  the  stone  is  figured  pL 
Ixxviii,  fig.  1,  described  p.  143.  Professor  Westwood's 
figure  is  drawn  by  camera  from  a  rubbing  he  made  on 
the  visit  of  the  Cambrian  ArchsBological  Association  in 
1878. 

The  first  to  question  the  accepted  reading  of  the  in- 
scription was  Mr.  Thompson  Watkin,  who  in  the  Arch. 
Camb.,  4th  Ser.,  vol.  iv,  p.  116,  note,  says  :  *'This  in- 
scription is  unquestionably  not  to  be  read  '  Cohors  se- 
cunda  (legionis)  August(B\  but  cohors  secunda  A.,  the 
name  of  its  nationality  being  lost.  The  legitimus  ordo 
noininum  is  thus  preserved.  In  other  words,  it  is  evi- 
dently an  auxiliary  cohort*  not  one  of  the  legion  itself" 
Later  on,  in  the  Archceological  JourAaly  vol.  xxxvi,  p. 
166,  speaking  of  the  inscription  on  this  stone  he  says : 
"  The  first  part  of  this  should  certainly  be  *  cohors  se- 
cunda A ',  the  nationality  of  the  cohort  being  ob- 
literated. I  have  lately",  he  adds,  "  received  from  Pro- 
fessor Westwood,  who  saw  the  stone  in  the  summer  of 
1878,  a  copy  of  the  inscription  (which  consisted  of  two 
lines)  as  far  as  it  is  visible.     It  is 

COH  .  II  .  A 

Beyond  A  in  the  first  line,  however,  the  tops  of  the 
letters  ST  are  plainly  visible  in  his  drawing,  and  thus 
shows  at  once  that  the  coH  .  ii .  astvrvm,  well  known 
in  Britanno-Roman  epigraphy,  was  intended."     In  his 

^  The  three  letters  tha  are  conjoined. 


LLANIO.  315 

paper  on  Roman  inscriptions  for  the  year  1879  {ArchcB- 
ological  Journal^  vol.  xxxvii,  p.  137),  Mr.  Thompson 
Watkin  again  refers  to  this  stone.  He  says :  "  In  my 
list  of  inscriptions  for  1878  I  referred  {Journal,  vol. 
xxxvi,  pp.  165-6)  to  the  inscription  No.  150  in  Dr. 
Hiibner  s  list,  which  was  found  at  Llanio,  Cardigan- 
shire. The  reading  of  it  given  by  Sir  K.  C.  Hoare  was 
COH  .  II .  A...  FVP  ;  and  that  by  Sir  S.  R.  Meyrick  {Car- 
diganshire,  pi.  5,  fig.  9),  which  I  did  not  at  the  time 
quote,  was 

COH .  II-A  TVR 
TAH  I 

I  expressed  the  decided  opinion,  based  upon  a  drawing 
received  from  Professor  Westwood,  showing  the  upper 
part  of  the  letters  st  after  coH  .  u  .  a,  that  coh  ii  astv- 
RVM  was  intended.  This  is  not  only  confirmed  by  the 
appearance  of  the  letters  tvr  in  S.  R.  Meyrick's  plate, 
but  also  by  the  recent  discovery  of  a  stone  built  into 
the  south  wall  of  the  tower  of  Llandewi  Brefi  Church, 
about  a  mile  distant,  which  is  said  by  Professor  West- 
wood  to  have  borne  the  inscription, 

MIBVS 
i.  AST 

Of  course  this  is  a  mere  fragment ;  but  from  the  en- 
graving^ of  the  stone  given  in  the  Lapidarium  WaUice 
I  take  the  first  letters  remaining  to  be  an  ligulate  in- 
stead of  M,  and  that  the  word  has  been  [m]anibv8  when 
entire.  The  stone  was  nearly  circular,  and  was  10  ins. 
in  diameter,  but  has  unfortunately  been  removed,  and 
was  "  sought  for  in  vain  during  the  Lampeter  Meeting" 
of  the  Cambrian  Archaeological  Association  in  1878. 
That  COH .  ii .  ast  has  been  in  the  second  line  seems 
certain.  This  is  the  second  instance  of  the  presence  of 
auxiliary  forces  in  South  Wales,  the  other  being  that 
of  the  Ala  Hispanorum  Vettonum,  named  in  my  last 
list.'^ 

So  far  as  I  am  aware  this  is  the  last  published  notice 

1  See  plate  71,  fig.  8. 


316  LLANIO. 

of  the  stone.  It  is  great  presumption  on  my  part  to 
venture  to  differ  with  so  great  an  authority  as  Mr. 
Thompson  Watkin  on  the  question  of  a  Boman  inscrip- 
tion, but  I  venture  to  think  that  he  would  not  have 
given  the  above  reading  had  he  seen  the  stone  itself ; 
and  that  it  is  very  questionable  if  the  letters  astvb  are 
on  the  stone  at  all,  which  I  carefully  examined  in  Octo- 
ber 1887.  The  inscription  is  almost  obliterated,  and 
it  may  be  impossible  to  say  what  it  really  is ;  but  it 
by  no  means  follows  that  we  should  accept  as  the  read- 
ing what  it  is  very  doubtful  is  there. 

The  inscription  is  of  two  lines :  I  think  of  ten  letters 
to  a  line.  As  regards  the  first  six  of  the  first  line, 
they  are,  no  doubt,  cohiia  ;  and  probably  the  next  let- 
ter is  s,  as  Mr.  Thompson  Watkin  points  out.  If  this 
be  so,  Meyrick's  ^'Cohors  secundcB  Augusta  fecit  quinque 
pdssus^^  must  be  given  up.  The  difficulty  is  to  say  what 
should  take  its  place.  I  do  not  think  any  reliance  can 
be  placed  on  Meyrick's  plate ;  and  unfortunately  Mr. 
Thompson  Watkin,  for  his  interpretation,  must  rely  on 
the  TVR  of  Meyrick,  but  Meyrick  omits  the  s  entirely. 
It  seems  that  the  s  follows  the  a  ;  but  the  so-called 
head  of  the  t,  which  appears  in  Professor  Westwood's 
sketch,  on  which  Mr.  Thompson  Watkin  relies,  is  very 
difficult  to  discover  on  the  stone.  If  A.  s.  is  sufficient 
for  Mr.  Thompson  Watkin's  reading,  it  may  be  con- 
ceded that  those  letters  are  there  ;  but  beyond  this,  as 
at  present  advised,  it  is  difficult  to  say  anything  cer- 
tain. 

This  stone  is  in  the  same  position  as  it  was  in  1878. 
It  forms  the  corner-stone  of  the  wall  of  the  stable  and 
carthouse,  and  is  built-in  upside  down,  the  letters  COH 
being  in  the  lower  right  hand  comer. 

There  is  one  other  inscribed  stone  at  Llanio  to  which 
allusion  should  be  made,  lest  it  might  appear  I  had 
overlooked  it.  It  is  built  into  the  front  of  the  house 
a  little  to  the  right  of  and  just  below  the  first  floor 
window.     It  is  thus  given  by  Professor  Westwood  : 

I  ID  I  IH  I  FE  I  1695  I 


CHURCH   RESTORATION.  317 

The  date  is  decidedly  modern,  if  the  rest  of  the  inscrip- 
tion is  older.  Westwood  mentions  it  in  the  Lapida- 
riiim  WallicB,  at  p.  143,  but  does  not  figure  it.  Mey- 
rick  figures  it,  pi.  5,  fig.  6.  The  stone  is  about  18  in. 
long  and  4  in.  wide.  When  I  saw  it  the  inscription 
diflfered  from  Professor  Westwood's  reading. 


CHURCH   RESTORATION. 

I  venture  to  call  the  attention  of  the  Society  to  what 
is  becoming,  or  rather  what  has  become,  a  lamentable 
source  of  destruction  to  antiquarian  remains  in  South 
Wales. 

In  various  of  the  Welsh  churches  inscribed  stones 
of  great  antiquarian  interest  had  been  built  into  the 
walls.  When  the  churches  are  restored  the  stones  are 
removed  and  lost.  Thus  at  Llanddewibrefi  a  Roman 
stone,  figured  by  Professor  Westwood  in  the  Lapida- 
rium  WoMcB,  pi.  71,  fig.  8,  was  built  into  the  tower. 
The  church  has  undergone  two  restorations,^  and  this 
stone  has  vanished,  as  well  as  another  stone  figured  by 
Camden,  which  Meyrick  supposes  to  record  the  murder 
of  Idnert,  the  last  Bishop  of  Llanbadarn,  which  has 
been  broken  up.  (PI.  68,  fig.  3.)  In  the  next  parish, 
Tregaron,  some  curious  incised  stones  are  figured  by 
Meyrick  as  having  been  in  the  church  and  churchyara. 
The  church  has  been  restored  ;  the  stones  have  (usap- 
peared.  The  church  of  Llanfairclydogau  had  bits  of 
fifteenth  century  work;  but  it  has  this  year  been  pulled 
down  and  rebuilt,  and  all  old  work  has  vanished.  The 
churches  of  Llangybi  and  Bettws  Bledrws,  adjoining 
parishes,  have  each  shared  the  same  fate.  At  Llan- 
dyssil,  until  restored,  an  inscribed  stone,  figured  by 
Meyrick,  was  to  be  seen  in  the  church.  It  has  now 
disappeared.    Llanybyther,  Nantcwnlle,  and  Pencarreg, 

^  Arch,  Camh,y  3rd  Ser.,  vol.  vii,  p.  310. 


318  CHURCH   RESTORATION. 

have  been  rebuilt ;  Cilcenin  is  rebuilding.  At  Llan- 
geitho  there  once  was  a  fine  screen.  It  is  thus  spoken 
of  by  the  Bishop  of  St  David's  in  his  address  to  the 
Cambrian  Archaeological  Association  at  the  Lampeter 
Meeting  in  1878  :  **In  Meyrick's  History  of  Cardigan- 
shire  the  interior  of  the  church  is  figured.  The  repre- 
sentation depicts  two  screens  across  the  church.  I 
know  of  no  similar  example  except  in  the  Cathedral 
Church  of  this  diocese.  Do  these  screens  still  exist  ? 
However,  beyond  a  tower  or  a  font  here  and  there,  and 
possibly  some  minor  feature,  I  really  know  of  nothing 
else  belonging  to  this  class  of  antiquities,  and  possess- 
ing any  real  interest,  in  the  whole  county  of  Cardigan. 
There  have  been  some  good  new  churches  built,  as  well 
as  satisfactory  (so-called)  restorations  ;  but  with  these 
we  have  nothing  to  do  at  present."^ 

I  regret  that  the  Bishop  can  bring  himself  to  speak 
of  these  restorations  as  satisfactory.  The  restorer  has 
demolished  the  Llangeitho  screen,  the  restorer  has  de- 
stroyed Roman  stones,  the  restorer  has  done  away  with 
all  traces  of  individuality  in  the  restored  churches,  and 
has  secured  conformity  by  ugliness.  But  the  matter 
does  not  rest  here.  At  Llanddewiabergwessin,  in  Bre- 
conshire,  where  a  church  (the  smallest  in  the  diocese) 
stood  until  1886,  the  Bishop  has  sanctioned  its  removal 
against  the  express  wish  of  the  parishioners,  but  at  the 
request  of  the  Vicar,  and  the  greater  part  of  it  has 
been  already  removed. 

It  will  be  said  that  the  Society  can  do  nothing  but 
deplore  these  acts.  I,  however,  venture  to  think  that 
they  can  remonstrate,  bring  the  matter  before  the 
Bishop,  and  beg  him  to  agree  to  three  things  that  may 
in  some  way  tend  to  put  a  stop  to  such  Vandalism  in 
future  ; — 

(1.)  To  insist  that  in  all  so-called  restorations  a  really 
competent  architect  should  be  employed,  and  no  restor- 
ation be  allowed  unless  such  a  person  is  employed. 

^  Arch,  Camb.y  4th  Ser.,  vol.  ix,  p.  334. 


CHURCH   RESTORATION.  319 

(2.)  To  insist,  before  agreeing  to  any  restoration  or 
alteration,  that  all  relics  of  antiquarian  interest  shall 
be  religiously  and  scrupulously  preserved  ;  and 

(3.)  To  insist  that  a  list  be  made  of  all  such  objects, 
and  that  the  rural  deans  and  archdeacons  be  required 
from  time  to  time  to  report  as  to  their  existence  and 
preservation. 

Already  much  has  been  lost  that  cannot  be  replaced, 
and  it  is  high  time  some  steps  were  taken  to  prevent, 
as  far  as  possible,  any  further  losses. 


With  reference  to  the  last  section  of  Mr.  Willis-Bnnd's  Report, 
the  following  resolution  was  nnanimoasly  carried :  — 

'*  That  the  Coancil  be  requested  to  give  attention  to  the  destrac- 
tion  of  ancient  monuments  going  on  all  over  the  country  under  the 
name  of  ^  restoration',  and  to  consider  whether  any  and  what  steps 
can  be  taken  to  check  the  mischief." 


320 


JOHN   LLOYD'S   NOTE-BOOK,  1637-1651. 

BT   ALFBED   NEOBABD   PALMEB. 

{Contiftuedfromp,  234.) 

'*Sessio  Magna  Com'  Denbigh  tent'  apud  Wrexham 
quarto  die  Octobris  an'o  R  Re'  Caroli  Anglie  etc. 
xvij"°  cora'  Thoma  Milward  mil'  et  Rich'o  Pryth- 
erch  ar'  Justic'  ib'm. 

"  Joh'es  Vaughan  ar*  vie*. 

"Katherina  vch  John  Wynne,  spinster,  q'  v'ss  Theodor  ap 
Eobt.,  Joh'em  ap  WilPm  et  Owinu'  ap  Tud^  de  in  deb'o  51i, 
viijs.  Hugh  Prichard  of  m*iadog  deli'ued  me  this  bond  &  under- 
tooke  to  pay  me  all  disbursments. 

"  p'  Rob'to  flfoulks  m'cer  d'  ad*s  Ed'di  Matthews  q'  in  bre'  de 
error'  p'  iudicio  in  Cur'  vill'  de  Denbigh. 

"  p'  Rob'to  flfoulks  de  tal  y  bryn  et  hugone  flFoulks  d'  ad's  Jo- 
h^is  Owen  junior  q^  in  deb'o  61i.  16s. 

"  p^  Rob'to  ap  Richard  ap  Jo'n  ap  Roger  def  ad's  Joh'es  ap 
Richard  q'  in  pPito  tr'ns  sup*  casu'  ad  dam'  cli.  Antient  [En- 
sign] Spynola  and  his  servant  flood  flanbeder  [so,  query  whether 
Lloyd  of  Llanbedr]  bad  me  appe'  &  p'mised  yt  the  def  wold 
pay  me  all  fees. 


"  Sess'  Magna  Com'  ffint  tent'  apud  Holywell  25°  die 

Aprilis  an'o  R.  Re'  Caroli  Anglie  etc.  xviij**  1642 

cora'  Thoma  Milward  milite'  et  Ric'o  Prytherch 

Justic'  ib'm. 

"  Dauid  Pennant  Ar"  Vic'. 

"  Henricus  Parry  de  Kilowen  q'  v'ss  Rob'tum  ap  Robt'  ap 
Roger  d'  in  deb'o  xlL  xvjs. 

"  I  had  2s.  6d.  for  confessing  3  acc'ons  for  Hugh  Thomas  & 
his  s'rties  put  ofiF  at  the  last  Sess'. 

"  p'  Ed'do  Morgan  gen'  ten*  ad's  Marie  que  fuit  Ed'di  Piers 
peten*  in  pl'ito  dotis  p'  terr'  in  gouldgreave,  axton,  picton  & 
kelstan.  Mr.  Whitley  gaue  me  warrant  to  appe'  &  p'mised  me 
paym't. 


JOHN  Lloyd's  note-book.  321 

"  Leolinus  Conway  et  Joh'es  Conway  de  bryn  y  wall  q'  v'ss 
Anna'  Thomas  vid'  exec'  testi  Rob'ti  Hughes  def  in  pl'ito  deb'i 
xliijli.  iiijs.  Mr.  Jo'n  Conway  of  Eydorthwy  &  late  of  dwylig 
gaue  me  the  bond. 

"  Eobt's  ap  Evan  de  Kjnrcgynan  v'ss  Evanu'  Rob'ts  et  Joh^em 
ap  Rob't  ap  John  de  in  pl'ito  deb'i  xjli. 

"  p'  Joh'e  ap  Rob't  de  Mayneva  (ballivo)  et  Rob^to  Hughes 
de'  ad^s  Ed'di  Griffith  q'  in  deb'o  51i.  Ss. 

"  p'  Joh'e  ap  hugh  ap  Richard  (son  of  Hugh  ap  Richard  of 
m'iadog)  def  ad's  Petri  Myddelton  q.  in  deb'o  vjli.  xvjs. 

"  p'  Thoma  Eyton  ten'  ad's  Jane  que  fuit  uxor  Job's  Uoyd  in 
pli't'  dotis  p'  terr'  in  overton  &  knowlton.  Mr.  Rich.  Mason  bad 
me  appe'. 


**  Sessio  Magna  Com'  Denbigh  tent'  apud  Denbigh 

s'c'do  die  Mali  an'o  E,.  Re'  Caroli  Anglie  etc.  xviij° 

1642  cora'Thoma  Milward  milite  et  Rich'o  Pryth- 

erch  ar'  Justic'  ib'm. 

"  Joh'es  Bellott  ar'  vic\ 

"  Pierseo  Williams  de  hendrenywyd  def 

"  p'  Thoma  Uoyd  de  Wrexham  ten'  ad  sect'  Elizabethe  que  fuit 
uxor  Ed'di  Crew  pet'  in  pl'ito  dotis  de  ter*  in  Wrixham  al's 
Wrixham  Regis. 

"  Joh'es  Barker  et  Elena  Barker  exec'  testi  Thome  Barker  q' 
v'ss  Matthew  Salusbury  et  Elena*  uxor*  eius  ad[ministrator'  tes- 
tamenti]  WiUimi  Myddelton  d'  in  deb'o  200U. 

"  7®  Maij  paid  Jo'n  gruffith  ap  Evan  for  my  cheefe  rent  due 
at  May  w'thin  the  hundred  of  Issalet  vjs. 

"  Dauid  ap  Hugh  q*  ver's  Elizabetham  Thomas  execut'r  testa- 
menti  et  bonorum  EUisii  Thomas  de  Ystrad  d'. 


"Sessio  Magna  Com'  fflint  tent'  apud  HoUywell  17^ 
die  Octobris  An'o  R.  R.  Caroli  Anglie  etc.  xviij** 
cora'  Thoma  Milward  milite  et  Ric'o  Prytherch 
Ar'  Justic*  ib'm. 

"  David  Pennant  ar'  vie'. 

"  p'  Joneta  vch  Dauid  de  Vaynoll  vid^  ten'  ad's  Marie  que 
fuit  ux'  Eob'ti  ffoulke  pet'  in  pl'ito  dotis  de  terr'  in  vaynol,  pen- 
gwem,  keelowen,  bodeygan  et  Mayneva  unde  etc.  le  demand 
est  de  3ia  p'te  30  acr'  terr'  6  acr'  prat*  et  20  acr'  past'  cu'  p't'n. 

"  p'  Joh'e  W'ms  et  Margaret  ux'  eius  et  Jane  vch  dauid  spin- 


322  JOHN  Lloyd's  note-book. 

ster  ten'  ad's  eiusde'  Marie  in  pPito  dotis  de  terr'  in  eisde'  vill\ 
Tenants  are  the  daughters  of  Jonet  vch  dd.     Simil'  demand. 

"  p'  Ed'do  Byrchinsha  et  Joh'e  ffoulk  dd  lloyd  ten'  ad's  Marie 
que  fuit  ux'  RoVti  ffoulke  pet'  in  pFito  dotis  de  terr'  in  vaynol 
et  pengwern  3ia  p'te  30  acr'  terr'  et  10  acr'  past'  cu'  p'tin'. 

"  p'  Willimo  Mostyn  ar*  ten'  ad's  Marie  que  fuit  ux'  Rob'ti 
ffoulke  pet'  in  pl'ito  dotis  de  ter'  in  Huriathicke  et  trevwchlan. 
le  dem'  est  de  3ia  p'te  un'  mess*  20  acr*  terr'  3  acr'  prat'  et  7 
acr'  past'  cu'  p'tin'. 

"  Joh'es  Bartholomew  de  Ehelofnwyd  [now  called  Newmar- 
ket] q'  v'ss  Ed'du'  Jones,  Ed'dum  Piers  et  Ed'dum  ap  Rob't  de'  in 
pl'ito  tr'ns  et  insult*  ad  dam'  q'  xxli.  q'  is  one  yt  carried  me 
clerk. 

"  p'  Jana  Eob'ts  spinster  executrici  testi  Eob'ti  ap  E's  wyn 
de  Uanelwy  def  ad's  Ed'di  Rondle  q'  in  de'b'o  40s.  def  is  sister 
to  Peeter  Eob'ts  of  St.  Asaph. 

"  Egomet  q'  v'ss  Eob'tu'  ap  Thomas  de  kwybyr  def  in  deb'o 
31i.  5s.  6d. 


"Sessio  Magna  Com'  Denbigh  tent'  apud  Ruthyn 
xxiiij®  die  Octobris  an  o  E.  Re'  Caroli  Anglie  etc. 
xviij®  cora'  Thoma  Mil  ward  milite  et  Ric'o  Pryth- 
erch  ar'  Justic'  ib'm. 

"  Joh'es  Bellptt  ar'  vie'. 

"  p'  Thoma  Piers  (fil*  Piersei  Thomas  de  Boddorryn)  d'  ad's 
Eob'ti  ap  Eob't  et  Elene  ux'  eius  q'  in  pl'ito  tr'ns  et  insuit'  ad 
dam'  q*. 

"  p'  ffulcone  Salusbury  senior,  ffulcone  Salusbury  junior,  et 
Eob't  ffoulke  m'cer  de'  ad's  Eich'i  Dryhurst  q'  in  pl'ito  tr'ns  et 
insult'  ad  dam'  q'  501i. 

"  Willim's  Piers  et  Anne  ux'  eius  que  fuit  ux'  Will'mi  ap 
John  ap  W'm  petentes  v'ss  Joh'e  ap  John  ap  Wm  ten'  in  dote 
unde  etc.  p'  terc'  p't  de  3  ace'  terr*  et  un  acr'  prat'  cu'  p'tin'  in 
Abergeley  et  Towyn.  Piers  ap  Wm.  Pugh  of  myvod  (whose 
father  the  pl't  Wm.  is)  came  to  me  &  gaue  me  Direcc'on  to  enter 
this  accon',  &  that  he  came  from  dd.  ap  Wm.  ap  Evan  of  vay- 
noU  (my  old  client,  who  is  father  to  the  pl't  Anne),  who  badd 
me  p'sent  the  same,  &  wold  see  all  disbursem'ts  paid. 

"  Upon  Saterday  of  this  Sess',  being  29  October,  I  paid  to 
John  Gruffith  ap  Evan  for  cheefe  rent  due  from  me  at  Mich'as 
last  vjs.  in  p'nce  of  my  Cosen  Edd.  W'ms  A  his  son. 


JOHN  Lloyd's  note-book.  323 

"Sess'  Magna  Com'  Denbigh  tent'  apud  Ruthyn 
xxij°  die  Maij  An'o  R.  Re'  Caroli  Anglie  etc.  cora' 
Thoma  Milward  mil'  et  Ric'o  Prytherch  ar'  Jus- 
tic'  ib'm. 

"  Joh'es  Thelwall  ar'  vie'. 

"  ffulco  ap  dauid  de  St.  George  q'  v'ss  Joh'em  ap  dd.  de  Bodor- 
ryn  def  in  pPit  deb'i  51i. 

"  Georgius  Thomas  yeom'  q'  Vss  Willm'  Parry  ePicu'  def  in 
pFito  deb'i  ccli.    Mr.  Piers  Conway  of  Rudlan  undertook  p*te. 

"  p'  Thoma'  Ball  [of  Burton]  exec'  testi  Eob'ti  Santhey  [of 
Burton]  d'  ad's  Elizabethe  Powell  vid'  in  pl'ito  deb'i  cxxli. 


"  Sessio  Magna  Com'  fflint  tent'  apud  fflint  xxix°die 
Maij  an'o  R.  Re'  Anglie  etc.  xix*"  cora'  Thoma  Mil- 
ward  milite  et  Richardo  Prytherch  ar'  Justic' 
ibm. 

"  Georgius  Hope  Ar'  vie'. 

"  flfranciscus  Younge  administrator  &  Joh'es  Burton  q'  v'ss 
Rob'tu  Uoyd  crieu'  def  in  pl'it  deb'i  iij.  xijs.  xd.  Edd.  Jones, 
my  lord's  [the  Bishop's],  steward,  p'mised  to  pay  me. 


"  Sessio  Magna  Com'  Denbigh  tent'  apud  Wrexham 

xxij°  die  Janu'ij  an'o  R.  Re'  Caroli  Anglie  etc. 

xix**  1643  cora'  Thoma  Milward  milite  et  Ric'o 

Prytherch  Justic'  ib'm. 

''  Joh'es  Thelwall  ar*  vie'. 

"  p'  Rogero  Smyth  def  al's  Rich'  Boult  q'  in  pl'ito  deb'i  xli- 
Jo.  Trevalyn  [of  AUington]  is  principall. 

"  Willi'm's  Salusbury  gen'  q'  v'ss  Thoma'  Hughes  def  in  deb'o 
2001i.  Staid  by  the  Judge  his  order  upon  the  Gou'nor  of  Wor- 
cester his  c'tificat'  yt  the  def  was  a  souldier  at  Worcester.  . 

"  Thomas  Ravenscroft  de  Pickhill  ar'  q'  v'ss  Joh'em  Royden 
of  Isycoed]  gen'  def  in  pl'ito  deb'i  xxvjli. 

"  p'  Morriceo  Anwyll  ten'  ad's  Gracese  que  fuit  ux'  Will' mi 
An^^U  pet'  in  pl'ito  dotis  de  ter'  in  garthg^mon. 

"  p'  Eliseo  Anwyll  (ut  gardia*)  ten'  ad|s  eiusdem  Graceae  in 
dote  p'  ter'  in  Garthgarmon.  Mr.  Edd.  W'ms  [of  Carwedfynydd] 

& W'ms,  another  of  her  sons,  gave  me  warrant,  &  p'mised 

to  saue  me  harmless. 

["  Joh'es  Ep'us  Asaphen*]  q'  v'ss  Joh'em  ap  Evan  de  tynhen- 
groen  et  Reinaldu'  W'ms  d'  in  pl'ito  deb'i  vli.  vjs.  viijd. 

.'iTH   8ER.,  VOL.  V.  23 


324  JOHN  Lloyd's  note-book. 

"  Idem  q'  v*ss  ffulcone'  ap  Hugh  Madock  de  Bettus  et  Ed- 
wardu'  ap  Hugh  de  Serior  d'  in  prito  deb'i  vli.  vjs.  viijd. 
[Eighteen  other  actions  for  debt  by  the  Bishop.] 


"  Sessio  Magna  Com'  fflint  tent'  apud  fflint  xxix**  die 
Jan'ij  a'no  R.  Re'  Caroli  Anglie  etc.  xix®  1643 
cora'  Thoma  Milward  Milit'  et  Rich'o  Prytherch 
ar'  Justic'  ib'm. 

"  Dauid  Conway  et  Alicia  nx'  eius  q'  v'ss  Evanu'  Eob'ts  et 
Thoma  Kob'ts  de*  in  pl'ito  deb'i  vjli.  viijs. 

"  p'  Joh'e  ap  William  de  wickwer  deP  ad's  Jane  Uoyd  exec' 
testi  Wiirmi  Dolben  q'  in  deb'o  41i.  10s.  def  is  grandchild  to 
Jo.  ap  Evan  ap  Hugh. 

"  p'  Eic'o  Owen  de  talare  d'  ad's  [eiusd*  q*]  in  pPito  deb'i 
vjli.  xs. 

"  p'  Thoma  Uoyd  de  St  Asaph  cFico  et  Eic'o  Jones  cl'ico  d' 
ad's  Joh'is  Myvod  q'  in  deb'o  xli.  xvjs. 

"  p'  Andrea  Morris  decano  eccl'ia  Cathedral'  Assaphen'  def 
ad's  Hugonis  Wms  sacre  theologie  p'fess's  q'  in  deb'o.  Concor- 
dant'r  p'tes. 


"  Sessio  Magna  Com'  Denbigh  tenta  apud  Ruthyn 
XX**  die  Martij  an'o  R.  Re'  Caroli  Anglie  etc.  xxiij** 
1647  cora'  Joh'e  Bradshaw  ar'  et  Petro  Warbur- 
ton  ar'  Justic'  ib'm. 

"  Eobt.  Sonlley  Ar'  vie'. 

[In  the  case  of  the  entries  belonging  to  these  Sessions  I  have 
inserted  at  the  beginning  of  each  passage  the  sums,  omitted 
elsewhere,  received  by  John  Lloyd  as  retaining  fees :  "n.  r." 
means  "  nothing  received".] 

"  r.  vs.  "  p'  dd.  Uoyd  de  eglwysvach  vel  Bodnod,  lodovico 
Morris, et  Will'mo  ap  John  ad's  Gruffini  Hughes  lessee  al' Thome 
Uoyd  in  tr'ns  et  eiecc'  firm'  p'  terr*  in  Bodnod. 

"  r.  2s.     p'  Will'mo  Uoyd  de  Brynfanigle  si  etc. 

"  r.  2s.  p'  Eob'to  ap  Eichard  de  Penporchell  et  Maria  ux' 
eius  et  Hen.  Uoyd  de  ad's  Joh'is  ap  Eichard  in  pl'ito  deb^i. 

"  r.  8s.  &  4s.  p'  Thoma  ap  Jo'n  ap  Eichard  de  chwybren, 
Evano  ap  Jo'n  ap  Eichard,  et  Eob'to  ap  Jo'n  ap  Eichard  et 
Thoma  ap  Jo'n  Thomas  de  ad's  Joh'is  ap  Evan  q'  in  tr^ns  et  in- 
sult' ad  dam'  501i. 


JOHN  Lloyd's  note-book.  325 

"  r.  5s.  6d.     p'  dauid  ap  Hugh  de  Hendregyda  etc. 

"  r.  5s.  6d.  p'  hugone  ap  dd.  et  Rob'to  fFoulke  ten'  ad's  Kathe- 
rine  nup'  ux'  Petri  lloyd  pet*  in  pl'lto  dotis  p'  ter'  in  llangwm 
voc'  llysdynmel. 

"  r.  2s.  6d.     p'  Rob'to  Wynne  de  voylas  ar*  etc. 

"r.  5s.  Joh'es  Owen  lessee  aF  Joh'i  ap  Hugh  ap  John  ap  Jer- 
worth  q'  Vss  Eichu*  ap  dauid  et  Katherine  uxor  de*  in  pFito 
tr'ns  et  eiecc*  firm'  p'  20  acr'  terr*  10  act*  prat'  et  20  acr'  past' 
cu*  p'tin'  in  Broughton.  Mr.  Powell,  p*son  of  Uandegla,  re- 
teigned  me  in  this  cause.  [The  Eev.  Wm.  Powell,  rector  of 
Llandegla,  was,  I  believe,  of  the  family  of  Powell  of  Broughton 
Hall,  parish  of  Wrexham,  and  the  lands  in  question  probably 
belonged  to  that  estate. — A.  N.  P.] 

"  r.  3s.  4d.  p*  Ed*ro  ap  Hugh  ap  Evan  de  tincadvell  def  ad*fl 
Katherine  Parry  in  deb'i  pFito. 

"  p*  Rob'to  John  de  Skybion  def  ad*s  Margaret  John  vid*  si 
etc. 

"  r.  5s.  p'  Eic*o  Hughes  de  Bettus  ten'  ad's  Gracea  que  fuit 
ux*  Thome  Gruff,  pet'  in  dote  de  terr*  in  brynfanigle. 

**  r.  3s.  4d.  p*  Denis  Long  de  Wrexham  def  ad's  Rob'ti  Son- 
lley  de  Esclusham  q*  in  deb*o. 

"  r.  3s.  4d.     p'  Johe*  Dauies  de  Bodiskaven  def*. 

"  r.  10s.  Jana  que  fuit  ux'  Rob'ti  Santhey  [of  Burton]  pet' 
v'ss  Joh'em  Langford  [of  Trefalun]  gen'  in  pl'ito  dotis  p'  un' 
messuag*  un'  gardin'  uno  pomar'  30  acr'  terr'  6  acr'  prat'  20  acr' 
past'  et  4or  acr'  bosc'  cu'  p'tin*  in  Burton.  Mr.  Ball  [of  Burton] 
will  pay. 

"  r.  68.  p'  Rob'to  ap  Thomas  de  Uanruth  def  ad's  Ed'ri  Rogers 
lessee  al'  Symoni  Thelwall  q'  in  pl'ito  tr'ns  et  eiecc'  firm'  p'  8 
acr'  ter'  6  acr'  prat'  8  acr*  past'  et  6  acr'  more'  cu*  p'tin'  in  Uoy- 
neth.  The  def  is  tenant  to  Robt.  lloyd,  who  is  Mr.  Goodman's 
kinsman.     [His  nephew,  according  to  a  later  note.] 

"  P'  [gracea  Wynne  de  garthgarmon]  Morisio  Anwyll  Riceu 
Anwyll  dd.  Anwyll,  et  Rob'to  Anwyll  de  ad's  dauid  Thomas  q' 
in  pl'ito  tr'ns  ad  dam'  q'  201i. 

"  [Joh'es  ap  John  ap  Einion]  q'  v'ss  Edmundu'  Conway  execu- 
tor test'i  Will'mi  Conway  d'  [in  pl'ito  deb'i]. 

"  n.  r.  Rich'us  Price  de  Bettws  cl'icus  q'  v'ss  Thoma  Wynne 
def  in  pl'ito  deb'i  241i. 


23 


326  JOHN  Lloyd's  note-book. 

"  Sessio  Magna  Com'  fflint  tent'  apud  Northop  vices- 
simo  septimo  die  Martij  an'o  R.  Re'  Caroli  Anglie 
etc.  xxiiij°  1648  cora'  Johe'  Bradshaw  ar'et  Petro 
Warburton  ar'  Justic'  ib'm. 

"  Eogerus  Hanmer  Ar'  vic\ 

"  p*  Joh'e  Parry  de  Uewerllyd  def  ad's  Hugonis  Browne  &  ux' 
exec'  testi  etc.  in  pPito  deb*i. 

"  p'  eodem  &  Joh'e  Parry  filio  suo  de'  ad's  Thome  Uoyd  q'  in 
deb'o. 

"  Elliseus  Jones  un's  atturn'  huius  cur'  q'  v'ss  Rogerii'  Bell 
de  tre'  r'  Abbat  gen*  in  pVito  tr'ns  &  insult'  cli. 

"  Rich'us  ffletcher  q'  v'ss  Edwardu'  Parry  de  Perthymaen  def 
in  pl'ito  tr'ns  &  insult'  ad  dam*  q'  clL 

''  Katherina  Jones  spinster  q'  v'ss  Joh'em  Uoyd  gen'  deft'  in 
pl'ito  deb'i  cli.     Mr.  Jo'n  Va'n  the  Councell'r  is  to  pay  me. 

"p'  Margarete  Holland  ten'  ad's  Katherine  que  fuit  uxor 
Petri  Hanmer  pet'  in  dote  de  tento  in  CaervallougL 


"  Sessio  Magna  Com'  fflint  tent'  apud  Northop  sc'do 
die  Octobris  an'o  R.  Re'  Caroli  Anglie  etc.  xxiv 
1648  cora' Joh'e  Bradshaw  et  Petro  Warburton 
ar'  Justic'  ib'm. 

"  Eogerus  Hanmer  Ar'  vie*. 

"  Henricus  ap  Ellis  de  Brynford  q'  v'ss  Pierseu'  Jones  et  Ed- 
wardu'  Parry  de'  in  deb'o  xli.  xvjs.  q*  is  tenant  to  William  Mos- 
tyn  of  Bagillt. 

"  Ric'us  Jones  cl'icus  et  Anne  ux*  eius  q'  v'ss  Hugo'em  Hughes 
d'  in  deb'o  46s.  8d. 

"  [Thomas  Norcott  q']  v'ss  Joh'e  Bythell  d'  in  pl'ito  tr'ns  ad 
dam'  q'  xxli.  p'  tr'ns  in  Argoed  sup'  claust'  voc'  Orsedd  vain.., 

"  p'  Joh'e  ap  Eob't  ap  Jo'n  de  Bodeigan  d'  ad's  Sare  Salusbury 
vid'  q'  in  deb'o  41i. 


*'  Sessio  Magna  Com'  Denbigh  tent'  apud  Wrexham 
9®  die  Octobris  an'o  R.  Re' Caroli  Anglie  etc.  xxiiij^ 
1648  Cora'  Johe'  Bradshaw  et  Petro  Warburton 
Ar'  Justic'  ib'm. 

"  Eobt.  Sonlley  Ar'  vie'. 

*'  ffulco  Salusbury  de  denbigh  pet'  v'ss  Will'mu'  Jones  et  Jana' 
ux'  eius  in  pl'ito  terr* p'  uno  mess*  &  2  gardin'  in  Denbigh. 


JOHN  Lloyd's  note-book.  327 


it  ».» 


p'  Eliz.  lloyd  vid'  nup*  ux*  dd.  Uoyd  de  Eglwysvach  gen* 
def  ci  in  omnib's.     J.  M.  [John  Madock  ?]  is  also  for  her. 

"  p*  Alisia  Uoyd  sorore  mea  vid'  d'  ad^s  Katherin  vz*  Edd.  vid* 
in  deb'o  201i.  16s. 

"  p*  John  Salusbury  de  llangernew  &  lowria  uxore  eius  de' 
ad's  Piercei  ap  John  &  Mallt  ux'  eius  q'  in  pVito  tr*ns  &  insult* 
ad  dam'  ipsius  q'  201i. 

"  Margareta  Holland  vid'  exec'  testi  Eogeri  Holland  ar'  q' 
ad's  Dauid  V'n  d'  in  deVo  121i. 

'*  Richard  Evans  of  Bachymbyd  owes  me  viijs.,  unpaid,  for 
Costs  in  one  acc'on  brought  ag't  him  by  my  sister  Alice 

"  p'  Hugone  ap  Evan  ap  Jo'n  ap  Richard  de  llangernew  vel 
Pant  ymanys  d'  ad's  Rob'ti  ap  Evan  lloyd  in  pl'ito  tr'ns  &  insult'. 

"  p'  flfulcone  Myddelton  de  Denbigh  si  de 

"  p'  Willimo  dauid  de  garthgarmon  d'  ad's  Elisei  Wyn  q'  in 
deb'o. 

"  p'  Ed'ro  Williams  de  Maesgwig  si  etc. 

"  p'  Thoma'  Ball  gen'  [of  Burton]  d'  ad's  Elizabethe  Weston 
vid'  executor  testi  Thome  Weston  q'  in  pl'ito  deb'i  xxixli. 

"  p'  Johe*  Salusbury  de  gyffiUiog  d'  ad's  Hugonis  ap  John  ap 
hugh  q'  in  pl'ito  tr'ns  sup'  cas'  ad  dam'  cli. 

"Andreas  Morris  cl'icus  [ex-Dean  of  St.  Asaph]  q'  v'ss  Joh'em 
Ellis  d'  in  pl'ito  deb'i  401i.  in  Cur'  de  Chirkland.  Removet'r  de 
Cur'  p'd  hie  a  Cur'  p'd. 


**  Sessio  Magna  Com'  Denbigh'  tent'  apud  Wrexham 
tertio  die  Septembris  an'o  d'ni  1649  cora'  hum- 
ffro  Mackworth  Ar'  Deputat'  Justic'. 

"  Thomas  Ravenscroft  Ar'  vie'. 

"  p*  Johe'  Salusbury  de  llangernew  &  lowria  ux'  eius  de  ad's 
piersei  ap  John  &  Mallt  ux'  eius  q'  in  tr'ns  &  insult'  ad  dam'  q' 
201i. 

"  Morgan's  Jones  lessee  al'  Alexander  Wilkye  q'  v'ss  Eliza- 
betha'  Weston  et  Thoma  Weston  d'  in  tr'ns  et  eiecc'  firm'  p'  1 
mess'  60  acr'  teix'  20  acr'  prat'  100  acr'  prat'  100  acr'  past'  et 
30  acr'  bruer'  cu'  p'tin'  in  AUington.  Mr.  Daniel  lloyd  reteyned 
me  &  p'mised  to  pay« 

"  Ric'us  lloyd  miles,  Rob't  Ellis  ar'  [of  Croes  If  ewydd]  et  Hoell 
lloyd  [of  Croes  locyn]  &  Susanna  ux'  eius  q'  v'ss  Thoma'  flFoster 
[one  of  the  deputy  stewards  of  Bromfield  and  Yale]  d'  in  deb'o 
clxxvjli. 

"  Joh'es  Owen  sacre  theologie  p'fessor  al's  Ep'us  Asaphen'  q' 
v'ss  Johe' Williams  in  deb'o  xixli.  xiijs.  ivd.  [Seven  other  actions 
for  debt  by  the  ex-Bishop.] 


328  JOHN  Lloyd's  note-book. 

"  p'  Wiirmo  Salusbury  de  Uewesog  ten'  ad's  Elizabethe  que 
fuit  ux'  henrici  ap  Rob't  pet'  in  dote  de  tent'  in  pentre  yr  llech. 

"  Willm's  Owen  q' v'ss  hugo'em  Jones  de  tynhengroen,  hugo'em 
Jones  cricu'  et  Rob'tu'  Uoyd  de*  in  deb'o  xli.  vjs. 

"  Thomas  John  dauid  de  garthgarmon  q'  v'ss  Joh'em  ap  Ellia 
ap  harry  d'  in  deb'o  iiijli.  vjs.  4d.    My  brother  Tho.  Wynne  will 

pay- 

"  Willi'ms  Wynne  de  garthgynan  ar'  q*  v'ss  Edw.  ap  Robt 
Uoyd  et  Joh'e  Matthews  de'  in  deb'o. 

"  Thomas  Dauies  chirurgeon  q'  v'ss  Rob'tura  Vaughan  filiu'  et 
hered'  app'  liichardi  Vaughan  d'  in  deb'o  xxli, 

"  p'  Evano  John  ap  Richard  de  Uansannan  def  ad's  Joh'is 
Vaughan  de  Bronheylog  q'  in  pl'ito  52s.  6d. 

"  p'  Johe'  Owen  de  letty  du  vel  Llanelian. 

"  p'Thoma' John  Hugh  de  broughton  def  ad^s  WilPmi  Meredd' 
ar'  vel  militis  q'  in  pl'ito.     Richard  wyn  app'ed  &  pleaded. 

"p'  Thoma'  Anwyll  de  twysog,  Johe'  ffoulke  de  meriadog, 
Hugo'e  flfoulke  de  eadem,  Ric'o  ffoulke  de  Uanyfyth  et  Ric'o 
Parry  de  llandur  de'  ad's  Joh'is  ap  etc. 

"  p'  Andrea  Morris  decano  etc.  def  ad's  hugonis  W'ms  sacre 
theologie  p'fessor  q'  in  deb'o  151i.  8s. 


"Sessio  Magna  Com'  fflint  tent'  apud  Hawarden 
decimo  die  Septembris  an'o  d'ni  1649  cora'  hum- 
Svido  Mackworth  Ar  deput'  Joh'i  Bradshaw  ar' 
Justic'  ib'm. 

•*  Thomas  Ravenscroft  Ar'  Vic'. 

"  Joh'es  Byrchinshaw  et  Elena  ux'  eius  q's  v'ss  Rob'tu'  Hum- 
ffreys  ar'  def  in  pl'ito  deb'i  8001i.  r.  40s.  et  sol'  inde  10s.  Cour 
silio  viz.  Owino  Gruff*.  [John  Byrchinshaw,  son  and  heir  of 
Thomas  Byrchinshaw  of  Arlloyd,  gent.,  was  married  May  24, 
1649,  at  Vaenol,  to  Ellen  Humphreys,  cUias  Mrs.  Risley,  widow. 
— Pet.  Roberts'  Diary.] 

"  Margareta  holland  vid'  executor  test'i  Rob'ti  Jones  q'  v'ss 
Katherina  hanm'[er]  vid'  Radu'  Hughes  Ar*  et  Eubulu  lewys 
cler'  execut'res  test'i  Petri  Hanmer  def  in  pl'ito  deb'i  20011. 

"  Thomas  Williams  de  Plas  ucha  q'  v'ss  Robertu'  GruflBth  def 
in  pl'ito  deb'i  cli.  Idem  q'  v'ss  eund'  def  in  pl'ito  detenco'is 
quatuordecim  modior  cumulator  hordei  ad  valend'  vijli. 

"  p'  Joh'e  Thomas  Piers  de  gweringron  def  ad's  Evan  ap  Hugh 
lewys  q'  in  pPito  deb'  43s. 

"  r.  30s.  p'  Johe'  Thomas  Vaughan  &  Ka.  ux*  eius  in  bre'  de 
false  iudicio  ad  remouend'  de  Com'  ad's  Gruffini  Rob'ts  &  Alicie 


JOHN  Lloyd's  note-book.  329 

ux'  eius  q'  in  pl'ito  tr'ns  sup'  cas*  ad  dam*  q'  39s.  lOd.  ob 

Mr.  Julius  Caesar  und'rtoke  to  pay  what  shall  app'e.     30s.  will 
be  short  to  reverse  these  iudgm'ts. 

"  p*  Rob'to  Mostyn  de  Nant  deP  ad's  WilFmi  Benett  q'  in 
deb'o  Ixli. 


**  Ad  Magna  Sessione  Com'  Denbigh  tent'  apud 
Wrexham  xv**  die  Aprilis  an'o  ani  1650  cora' 
Humffro  Mackworth  ar'  et  Thom.  ffel  ar'  Justic* 
ib'm. 

"  Rich'us  Myddelton  Ar*  vie'. 

"  Ed'rus  Parry  (fir  will'  parry  nup'  de  green)  q'  v'ss  flfulco*em 
Rob'ts  def  in  pl'ito  deb*i  xijli. 

"  p'  dauid  lloyd  sacre  theologie  p'fessori  def  ad's  Dorothee 
Dauies  administr*  et  Eob'ti  Dauies  in  deb'o  SOOIL 

"  Ermyn  Hodelo  vid'  exec'  test'i  Zachari  Hodelo  q'  v'ss  Jana' 
BUlot  vid'  in  deb'o  40U. 

"  Maria  Wms  vid'  q'  v'ss  Edm'  Price  def  in  deb'  141i.  John 
Lloyd  of  garthgynan  sent  the  bonds  to  me. 

•'  p'  Elenora  lloyd  vid'  et  Johe''  lloyd  execut'r  test'i  Joh'is 
lloyd  ar*  q'  v'ss  Petru'  du  Moulin  [the  well  known  Peter  du 
Moulin,  D.D.,  author  of  Vindication  of  Protestant  Religion,  etc., 
ex  Rector  (sinecure)  of  Llanarmon-yn-Ial]  cl'ic*  d'  in  pl'ito  deb'i 
3001i. 


"  Sessio  Magna  Com.  fflint  tent'  apud  Hawarden 
xxij^°  die  Aprilis  an'o  D'ni  1650  cora'  Humflfro 
Mackworth  ar'  deputat'  Joh'is  Bradshaw  ar'  ser- 
vient' ad  legem  et  Thoma  ffel  ar'  Justic'  ib'm. 

"  Humfifrid's  Dymock  Ar'  vie'. 

"  p'  Rob'to  Price  de  Aelwyd  ucha  d'  ad's  Hugonis  Hughes  q' 
in  pl'ito  deb'L 

"  p'  Ed'ro  lloyd  de  tre  yr  beirth  def  ad's  Ed'ri  Gruffith  Rey- 
nald  et  ux'  q'  in  pl'ito  tr'ns  et  insult'. 

"  p'  code'  Ed'ro  et  Thoma'  lloyd  filio  suo  d'  ad's  eiusd'  Ed'ri 
Gruffith  in  tr'ns  &  insult*. 

"p'  Joh'e  Salusbury  senior  de  Bachegraig  Ar'  ad's  Joh'is 
Madocke  q'  in  deb'o  251i.  12s.  7d. 

"  Rob'ts  Coytmor  ar'  q'  v'ss  Thoma'  Whitley  ar'  d'  in  pl'ito 
tr'ns  sup'  cas'  ad  dam'  q'  cli.  r.  xxs.  et  sol'  inde  xs.  consilio 
M'ro  Mytton. 

"  p'  Petro  Wynn  de  leeswood  d'  in  [deb'o]. 


330  JOHN  Lloyd's  note-book. 

"  p'  Thoma'  Jones  de  vaynoll  et  dorethea  uxore  eius  exec' 
test'i  Ed'ri  Jones  d*  ad's  Thome  ap  Wm.  dd.  in  deb'o  SOli. 

"  p'  Joh'e  Parry  de  llewerllyd  def  ad's  Joh'is  Conwey  q'  in 
pFito  deb'i  xli. 

"  Margareta  Hughes  vid'  et  Gruffin's  Eogers  q'  ad's  Elisei' 
Powell  de'  in  pl'ito  deb'i  44s.  4d.  The  widow,  daughter  of  the 
pl't  Margaret,  whose  husband  died  in  the  wars. 

"  p'  Gruffino  Eogers  de  gellyloveday  d'  ad's  piercei  Jones  q'  in 
deb'o  43s.     His  sister,  the  widow,  p*mised  paym't. 

"  p'  Thoma'  fltoulke  de  hendrevigillt  d*  ad's  Wiirmi  Wynter 
q'  in  pl'ito  tr^ns  ad  dam'  q'.** 


331 


LLYFR   SILIN 

YN  CYNNWYS  ACHAU  AMRYW  DEULUOEDD 
YN   NGWYNEDD,  POWYS,  ETC. 

(^Continued  from  p.  121.) 


CROES  OSWALLT.    Y  FICAR  PRYS. 

Mr.  Sion  Prys  Prelad  ap  Sion  ap  Thomas  ap  Rhys  ap 
Moris  ap  leuan  Gethin  ap  y  Kyffin. 

Mam  Mr.  Sion  Prys  oedd  Sioned  verch  Sion  ap  Ed- 
ward ap  GruflPydd  ap  Adda  ap  leva  ap  Adda 
ap  Awr  o  Drefor. 

Mam  Sioned  oedd verch  Sir  Sion  Lloyd  Prelad 

o'r  Llwyn  y  Maen. 

Mam  Sion  ap  Thomas  ap  Rhys  oedd  Sissili  Staney 
verch  Sandr.  Stane. 

Mam  Thomas  ap  Rhys  oedd  Gwenh wy far  ferch  Robert 
neu  Richard  Salter. 

Mam  Rhys  oedd  Margred  verch  Dafydd  ap  Giwn 
Lloyd  o'r  Hendwr. 

ESTYN. 

Mr.  Robert  Lloyd  ap  Thomas  Lloyd  Arglwydd  y 
Drewen  ap  Andrew  Lloyd  ap  Richard  Lloyd  ap  Robert 
Lloyd  ap  leuan  Lloyd  ap  Meredydd  ap  Howel  ap  Moris 
ap  leuan  Gethin  ap  y  KyflSn. 

Mam  Andrew  Lloyd   oedd  ...  verch   Mr.   Thomas 

Shorton  o  Aple. 
Mam  Richard  Lloyd  oedd  . . .  verch  William  Edwards 
ap  Sion  Edwards  h6n  o'r  Waun  ap  lorwerth 
ap  leuan  ap  Adda  ap  lorwerth  ddu  ap  Edny- 
fed  Gam. 
Mam  Robert  Lloyd  oedd  Sioned  verch  Richard  Stane 
o  Groes-Oswallt. 


332  LLYPR  SILIN. 

Mam  leuan  Lloyd  ap  Meredydd  oedd  Damasin  verch 
Richard  Irlaud  ap  Roger  Irland  ap  Sir  Sion 
Irland  Arglwydd  Hwrt. 

Mara  Meredydd  ap  Howel  ap  Moris  oedd  Mared 
verch  ac  etifeddes  Howel  ap  leuan  ap  lorwerth 
ap  Einion  Gethin  o  GyoUeth. 

Mam  Howel  ap  Moris  oedd  Margred  verch  ac  un  o 
bedair  etifeddesau  Dafydd  ap  Giwn  Lloyd  ap 
Dafydd  ap  Madoc  oV  Hendwr  ap  lorwerth  ap 
Madoc  ap  Gruffydd  ap  Owen  Brogyntyn. 

Plant  leuan  Lloyd  ap  Meredydd  o  Sioned  verch 
Richard  Stane  oedd  Robert ;  Thomas ;  Mr. 
Richard  Lloyd,  Prelad  ;   Dafydd  ;  a  Sion. 

Mr.  Andrew  Lloyd  a  briododd  Margred  verch  Mr. 
Thomas  Powel  o  Bark  y  Drewan  ;  a  bu  iddi  to 
Blant  0  honi  (nid  amgen)  Thomas  Lloyd  a 
briododd  Margred  verch  ac  un  o  etifeddesau 

Mr Albein  Arglwydd  y  Drewen;  Andrew 

Lloyd;  Samuel  Lloyd;  Richard  Lloyd,  Doctor; 
Josha  Lloyd  a  Robert  Lloyd.  Ac  o  ferched, 
Mary  Lloyd,  Elizabeth  Lloyd,  a  Margred  Lloyd. 

EBNAL  YN  SWYDD  Y  DREWEN  NEU  SARN. 

Richard  Lloyd  ap  Edward  Lloyd  ap  Philip  Lloyd  ap 
Edward  ap  Dafydd  Lloyd  ap  Sion  ap  Madoc  i  Owen 
Brogyntyn. 

Mam  Richard  Lloyd  oedd  Ann  verch  Philip  ap  Sion 
0  Foxgill.^ 

Mam  Edward  Lloyd  ap  Philip  Lloyd  oedd  Sian  verch 
William  ap  Meredydd  o  Westyn,  Uchelwr  o 
Blwy  Marthin. 

Mam  Philip  Lloyd  oedd  Kattrin  verch  Sion  ap  Wil- 
liam ap  Meredydd  ap  lolyn  ap  leuan  Gethin 
ap  Madoc  Kyffin. 

Mam  Edward  Lloyd  ap  Dafydd  Lloyd  oedd  Sina 
Glynn  verch  ac  etifeddes  Dafydd  Glynn  ap  Sion 
ap  William  ap  Moris  ap  leuan  Gethin  ap  Madoc 
Kyffin. 

1  Berghill  (?). 


LLYFR  SILIN.  333 

Mam  Sina  Glynn  oedd  Gwen  verch  Howel  ap  Gruff- 
ydd  ap  Howel  ap  Madoc  ap  lorwerth  Goch. 

Mam  Dafydd  Glynn  oedd  Kattrin  verch  Rhys  ap 
Meredydd  ap  Tudr  ap  Howel  ap  Kynwric  fy- 
chan  ap  Kynwric  ap  Llowarch.  Cais  Ach  Plas 
lolyn. 

Mam  Sion  ap  William  ap  Moris  oedd  Ales  verch 
leuan  fychan  ap  leuan  ap  Adda  ap  lorwerth 
ddu  ap  Ednyfed  Gam. 

Mam  Kattrin  verch  Sion  ap  William  ap  Meredydd 
ap  lolyn  oedd  Kattrin  verch  Edn.  ap  Gruffydd 
ap  leuan  ap  Einion  ap  Gruffydd  ap  Llewelyn 
ap  Kynwric  ap  Osbwrn. 

Mam  Kattrin  verch  Edn.  oedd  Elizabeth  verch 
Gruflfydd  ap  Llewelyn  ap  Hwlkin  ap  Howel  ap 
lorwerth  ddu  ap  lorwerth  ap  Gruffydd  ap  lor- 
werth.    Cais  Ach  Hendwr. 

Mam  Elizabeth  oedd  Kattrin  verch  John  ap  Mer- 
edydd ap  leuan  ap  Meredydd  ap  Howel  ap 
Dafydd  ap  Gruffydd  ap  Kariadog  ap  Thomas 
ap  Rodri  ap  Owen  Gwynedd. 

Mam  Kattrin  oedd  Gwenhwyfar  verch  Gronw  ap 
leuan  ap  Einion  ap  Gruffydd  ap  Howel  ap 
Meredydd  ap  Kynfrig  ap  Gwgan. 

Mam  Ednyfed  ap  Gruffydd  oedd  Isabel  verch  leuan 
ap  Adda  ap  lorwerth  ddu  o  Bengwern. 

Mam  Gruffydd  ap  leuan  ap  Einion  oedd  Angharad 
verch  ac  un  o  bedair  etifeddesau  Dafydd  ap 
Giwn  Lloyd  ap  Dafydd  ap  Madoc  o'r  Hendwr. 

Mam  Isabel  verch  leuan  ap  Adda  oedd  Angharad 
verch  ac  etifeddes  Ednyfed  ap  Tudr  ap  Gronw. 

PARK  Y  DREWEN.     1646. 

Robert  Powel  ap  Thomas  ap  Robert  ap  Thomas  Powel 
h^n  ap  Robert  ap  Howel  o  Groes  Oswallt  ap  Gruffydd 
ap  leuan  fychan  ap  leuan  Gethin  ap  Madoc  KyfBn  ap 
Madoc  Goch  ap  leva  ap  Kyhelyn  ap  Rhun  ap  Einion 
Efell  ap  Madoc  ap  Meredydd  ap  Bleddyn  ap  Kynfyn. 


336  LLYFR  SILIN. 

Mam  William  Mutton  oedd  Elinor  verch  ac  un  o 
bedair  etifeddesau  Sir  John  Burgh  lorMowddwy 
ap  Hugh  Burgh. 

Mam  Elinor  oedd  Sian  verch  ac  Aeres  ...  Barwn  o 
Klopton. 

Mam  Sion  Burgh  oedd  Elizabeth  verch  ac  etifeddea 
Sion  Arglwydd  Mowddwy  ap  William  ap  Gruff- 
ydd  ap  Gwenwynwyn  ap  Owen  Cyfeiliog. 

Mam  Elizabeth  verch  Sion  lor  Mowddwy  oedd  Sian 
verch  ac  Aeres  Sir  Thomas  Korbet  ap  Sir 
Robert  ap  Sir  Sion  Korbet. 

Mam  Sion  lor  Mowddwy  oedd  Elinor  verch  ac  un  o 
etifeddesau  Thomas  ap  Llew.  ap  Owen  ap 
Meredydd  (megis  yn  Ach  Sion  Edward  o 
Waun)  Arglwydd  Iscoed  oedd  Thomas  ap  Llew- 
elyn. 

Mam  Elinor  oedd  Elinor  goch  verch  ac  etifeddes 
Philip  ap  Ifor  lor  Iscoed. 

Mam  Elinor  goch  oedd  Kattrin  verch  ac  etifeddes 
Llew.  ap  Gruffydd  ap  Llewelyn  .ap  lorwerth 
Drwyndwn. 

Mam  Kattrin  oedd  Elinor  verch  Sion  Mwnfford  larll 
Leisester. 

SHELFOC. 

Thomas  Thorns  ap  Francis  Thorns  ap  Richard  ap 

Nicholas  ap  Sieffrai  neu  Godfrey  Thorns  ap  John  ap 

Roger  ap  Thomas  Thorns,  medd  rhai  ap  Robert  Thorns. 

Mam  John  Thorns  oedd  Sian  verch  Sir  Roger  Kynas- 

ton  ap  Gruffydd  ap  Sienkin. 
Mam  Sieffre  oedd  Elizabeth  Astley  o  PatshuU,  com. 

Stafford. 
Mam  Nicholas  oedd  Sian  Ffowler  verch  Roger  Ffow- 
ler. 

MORTYN  KORBED. 

Sir  Andrew  Korbed  ap  Roger  ap  Sir  Robert  ap  Sir 
Richard  ap  Sir  Roger  Korbed  ap  Thomas  Korbet  ap 


LLYFR  SILIN.  337 

• 

Robert  Korbet  Arglwydd  Mortyn  ap  Robert  Korbed 
ap  Ffoulke  Korbed  ap  Thomas  Korbed. 

Gwraig  Sir  Andrew  Korbed  oedd  Jane  verch  Sir 
Robert  Needham. 

Gwraig  Roger  ap  Sir  Robert  oedd  Ann  verch  

Lord  Wyndsor. 

Mam  Roger  ap  Sir  Robert  Korbed  oedd  Elizabeth 
verch  Sir  Harry  Vernon  ap  Sir  William  Ver- 
non.    Cais  Ach  Powel  o'r  Park. 

Plant  Sir  Andrew  Korbed  oedd  Sir  Richard,  Rein- 
allt,  Roger,  Francis,  Sir  Vincent,  Arthur,  Ann 
gwraig  Sir  Walter  Lewson,  Mary,  Margred 
gwraig  Thomas  Harley. 

Plant  Roger  ap  Sir  Robert  Korbed  oedd  Sir  Andrew 
a  Robert  Korbet  o  Stanerton. 


Y  MWYTHIG. 

David  Lloyd  ap  Roger  ap  David  Lloyd  ap  Sir  Gruff- 
ydd  Fychan  o  Bowys.  Gorffen  yn  Ach  y  Llai  {Leigh- 
ton  hodie). 

Mam  Roger  Lloyd  oedd  Elen  verch  Sienkin  Kinas- 
ton  ap  Gruffydd  ap  Sienkin  :  un  fam  un  dad 
oedd  Elen  a  Phyrs  ap  Sienkin  Kinaston.  Gor- 
ffen yn  Ach  Ffransis  Kinaston  o  Watle. 


BLSMBR,  WATLE. 

Ffransis  Kynaston,  Esq.,  ap  Edward  Kinaston  ap 
Sir  Ffransis  Kinaston  ap  Sir  Edward  Kinaston  ap 
Ffransis  Kinaston  ap  George  Kinaston  ap  Humphre 
Kinaston  ap  Pyrs  Kinaston  ap  Siankyn  Kinaston  ap 
Gruffydd  ap  Siankyn  ap  Madoc  ap  Philip  ap  Grufiydd 
ap  Gruffydd  fychan  ap  Sir  Gruffydd  ap  lorvverth  Goch 
ap  Meredydd  ap  Bleddyn  ap  Kynfyn. 

Mam  Ffransis  Kynaston  oedd  lann  verch  Sir  Edward 
Grae  o  Swydd  Warwick. 

Mam  George  Kinaston  oedd verch  ac  etifeddes 

Richard  Watle. 


338  LLYFR  SILIN. 

Mam  Humphre  Kinaston  oedd verch  ac  Aeres 

Edward  ap  Morgan  o  Alrhe  ap  leuan  ap  Gruff- 
ydd  ddu  ap  Gruffydd  Goch  ap  Llew.  Goch  ap 
Edn.  Gryg  ap  Tudr  ap  Edn.  ap  Kynwric  ap 
Riwallon  ap  Dyngad  ap  Tudr  Trelbr. 

Mam  Edward  ap  Morgan  oedd  Kattrin  verch  ac  eti- 
feddes  Madoc  ap  Meredydd  ap  Llewelyn  ddu 
ap  Gruffydd  ap  lorwerth  foel  ap  lorwerth 
fychan  ap  yr  li6n  lorwerth. 

Mam  Margred  verch  Edward  ap  Morgan  oedd  Leuku 
neu  Angharad  verch  Richard  ap  Madoc  ap 
Llewelyn  ap  Ednyfed  Gam. 

Mam  Pyrs  Kinaston  oedd  Sian  verch  Sir  John  Main- 
waring. 

Mam  Siankin  Kinaston  oedd  Margred  verch  John 
Hwrd  Arglwydd  Wawavrrt  ap  Roger  Hwrd  ap 
Richard  Hwrd :  hi  oedd  gwraig  Gruffydd  Kinas- 
ton. 

Mam  Philip  Kinaston  oedd  Gwen  verch  lorwerth  ap 
Gruffydd  ap  Heilin  o'r  Fron  Goch. 

Mam  Gruffydd  Kinaston  ap  Siankin  oedd  Annes 
verch  Llew.  ddu  ap  Griffith  ap  leuan  foel  ap 
lorwerth  fychan  ap  lorwerth  h6n. 

Mam  Siankin  Kinaston  h6n  oedd  Sissli  verch  ac  aeres 
lankin  lor  Ffraiictyn. 

Mam  Madoc  ap  Philip  oedd  Gwerfyl  verch  ac  etif- 
eddes  Roger  fychan  ap  /SzV  Roger  Powys  ap 
Grono  ap  Tudr  ap  Rys  Sais. 

Mam  Gruflfydd  ap  Gruffydd  fychan  oedd  Jane  verch 
Robert  Arglwydd  Bwckle. 

Mam  hono  oedd verch y  Barwn  of  Werin- 

ton. 

Mab  Gruffydd  Kinaston  oedd  lankin  Kinaston  o 
Stokes  yn  Elsmer. 

Plant  Pyrs  Kinaston  o  Aeres  Aire  oedd  Humffre 
Kinaston,  Siasber,  Pyrs,  ac  Edward  Powys  or 
Koesit. 

Plant  Humffre  o  Aeres  Watle  oedd  George  Kinaston 
(a  briodes  . . .  verch  Sir  Edward  Grae)  a  Mar- 


LLYFR  SILIN.  339 

gred  a  briodes  Edward  Kinaston  o  Hordle,  a 
bu  iddynt  ferch  a  elwjd  Jane  a  briododd  Ed- 
ward Penrhyn  o  Landrinio. 
Mab  {sic)  Siasber  Kinaston  o  ...  chwaer  Sir  Rondl 
Briwton  oedd — 

1.  Raff  Kinaston. 

2.  Sion  Kinaston  o  Hantun  a  briodes  . . .  vercli 
Lewis  Powys  o  Elsmer  a'r  Kocksjt. 

3.  Thomas  ap  Siasber  Kinaston  o  Elsmere  a 
briodes  Margred  verch  John  Oli/  ac  iddynt  y  bu 
John  Kinaston  Gwasneithwr  Esgob  York  ;  a'i 
chwaer  lann  a  briodes  Esgob  York. 

4.  Margred  verch  Siasber  Kinaston  gwraig 
Sion  Wynn  o'r  Bistog. 

5.  Ann  verch  Siasber  Kinaston  gwraig  Sion 
Lloyd  o  Gae  Howel. 

Plant  Roger  Kinaston  o  Siotyn  o  Fary  verch  Sir 
Thomas  Hanmer  oedd  Ffransis  Kinaston,  Tho- 
mas Kinaston,  Margred,  Elinor,  Ann,  Mary,  a 
Doriti,  anno  1556. 

Pedair  Merch  Siankin  Kinaston  ap  Gruffydd  ap  Sian- 
kin  oedd — 

1.  Ales  gwraig  Robert  Lloyd  ap  Meredydd  o 
Llwyn  y  Maen. 

2.  Sian  neu  Elen  gwraig  Dafydd  Lloyd  ap 
Sir  Gruffydd  Fychan  o  Bowys,  y  Llai. 

3.  Margred  gwraig  ...  Spenser  o  Swydd  y 
Mwythig  ;  mam  oedd  hi  i  William  Spenser. 

4 Gwraig  Wodal  Ystol. 

Mam  Gruffydd  Fychan  oedd  ...  verch  leuan  Goch 
ap  Dafydd  ap  lorwerth  ap  Heilin  ap  Trahaiarn 
ddu. 

Edward  ap  Morgan  a  \  oeddent   frodyr   un  fam  un 
Howel  ap  Morgan     J  dad.  Cais  Ach  Aire. 

1  Clive  (?). 


5th  sir.,  vor..  v.  21- 


340  LLYFR  SILTN. 


KRIKOD. 

Plant  Elis  Kynaston  ap  Roger  ap  Philip  ap  John  ap 
Richard  Kinaston.  John  Kinaston  a  George  Kinaston  ; 
Margred  gwraig  Sion  Kinastion  ap  William  Kinaston 
ap  Dafydd  Kinaston  o  Ffeltyn  :  Ac  i  Sion  Kinaston  j 
bu  tri  mab,  William,  Dafydd,  a  Sion.  Ac  wedi  marw 
Sion  Kinaston  o'r  Woodhouse  priodes  Margred  Hum- 
phre  Kinaston  ap  Richard  Kinaston  o  Rwyttyn. 

Ail  ferch  i  Elis  Kinaston  oedd  Sian  gwraig  William 

High  o  Stafford  sir ;  ac  Elizabeth  a  fu  farw  heb  blant. 

Mam  Dafydd  Kinaston  a'r  meibion  aV  merched  uchod 

oedd  Kattrin  Hanmer  verch  John  Hanmer  o 

Lys  Bedydd. 

Mam  Elis  Kinaston  oedd  Elin  verch   Sion  Wynn 

Kinaston  o  Ddudlyst  ap  Siankyn. 
Mam  Elin  oedd  Gwenhwyfar  verch  Sion  ap  Howel 

ap  Einion  Goch  o  BantybyrsUe  yn  Nydlyst. 
Mam  Philip  Kinaston  oedd  Annes  verch  leuan  ap 

Llew.  ap  lorwerth. 
Mam  Annes  oedd  ...  verch  Dafydd  Eutyn. 
Krikod  :    Dafydd   Kinaston   ap  Elis   Kinaston   ap 
Roger  Kinaston  ap  Philip  ap  Richard  ap  Sion 
Kinaston  ap  Madoc  ap  Philip  ap  Gruffydd  ap 
Gruffydd  fychan  ap  Sir  Gruffydd  ap  lorwerth 
Goch  :  fal  o'r  blaen. 
Philip  ap  John  ap  Richard  :  edrych  uchod. — I.  M. 

HORDLAI. 

Edward  Kinaston,  Esq.,  ap  Roger  Kinaston  ap  Ed- 
ward Kinaston  ap  Roger  Kinaston  ap  Edward  Kinas- 
ton ap  Humffre  Kinaston  Wyllt  ap  Sir  Roger  Kinaston 
ap  Gruffydd  ap  Siankin  ap  Madoc  ap  Philip  ap  Gruff- 
ydd ap  Gruffydd  fychan  ap  Sir  Gruffydd  ap  lorwerth 
Goch  ap  Meredydd  ap  Bleddyn  ap  Cynfyn. 

Mam  Roger  Kinaston  oedd  Mary  verch  Thomas 
Owen  o  Gwnder  ap  Richard  ap  Owen  ap  Gruff- 
ydd ap  Madoc. 


LLYFR  SILIN.  341 

Mam  Edward  Kinaston  oedd  Margred  verch  Sion 
Owen  Fychan  o  Lwydiarth.  Cais  Ach  Llwyd- 
iarth. 

Mam  Roger  Kinaston  ap  Edward  ap  Humffre  oedd 
Margred  verch  Edward  Lloyd  o  Llwynymaen 
ap  Richard  ap  Robert  ap  Meredydd  Lloyd  o 
verch  Richard  Stane  o  Groesoswallt. 

Mam  Edward  Kinaston  ap  Humffre  oedd  Elizabeth 
verch  Meredydd  ap  Howel  ap  Moris  ap  leuan 
Gethin  ap  Madoc  Kyffin. 

Gwraig  Humffre  Kinaston  Wyllt  oedd  Margred  verch 
William  ap  Gruffydd  ap  Robyn  o  Gochwillan, 
ac  y  bu  iddo  o  honi  Sion,  mort ;  ac  Elizabeth 
gwraig  Sion  Trefor  Constabl  Croes  Oswallt ;  ac 
wedi  nyny  gwraig  Edward  Lloyd  o  lal. 

Tybiaf  mae  ail  wraig  Kinaston  oedd  Margred. — I.  M. 

Mam  Humffre  Kinaston  Wyllt  oedd  Elizabeth  verch 
Harri  Grae  Arglwydd  Powys  ac  larl  Tanger- 
flBld  ap  Sir  John  Grae  Marchog. 

Mam  Harri  Grae  oedd  ...  verch  ac  etifeddes  Edward 
Charlton  Arglwydd  Powys  ap  Sion  Charlton 
ap  Sion  Charlton  ap  Sion  Charlton  yr  Arglwydd 
cyntaf  o'r  enw  ym  Mhowys. 

Mam  Sion  Charlton  yr  ail  oedd  Hawis  gadarn  verch 
ac  un  o  etifeddesau  Owen  ap  Gruffydd  ap 
Gwenwynwyn. 

Mam  Sion  Charlton  oedd  Elinor  verch  ac  etifeddes 
Thomas  Holand  larll  Cent,  yr  hon  a  fuase  yn 
briod  o'r  blaen  a  Roger  Mortimer  larll  y  Mers. 

Mam  Elizabeth  verch  Harri  larll  Tankerffild  oedd 
Antigoni  verch  Humffre  Duke  o  Gloster,  brawd 
Harri  Y^  Brenin  Lloegr  ap  Harri  TV  ap  John 
Duk  Lankaster  ap  Edward  III^*^  &c. 

Plant  Sir  Gruffydd  ap  lorwerth  Goch  ap  Meredydd 
ap  Bleddyn  oedd  Egnion,  Owen  a  Gruffydd 
Fychan. 

Mam  Sir  Roger  Kinaston  oedd  Margred  verch  John 
Hwrt  Arglwydd  Walwrt  yr  Sir  y  Mwythig  ap 
Roger  Hwrt  ap  Richard  Hwrt. 

24^ 


342  LLYFR  SILIN. 

Mam  GrufFydd  ap  Siankyn  oedd  Annes  verch  Llew- 
elyn ddii  ap  Gruffydd  ap  lorwerth  foel  ap  lor- 
werth  fychan  ap  yr  hen  lorwerth  ;  chwaer 
gwbl  oedd  yr  Annes  hon  i  Angbarad  gwraig 
Sir  Dafydd  Hanmer. 

Mam  Llewelyn  ddu  oedd  Gwerfyl  verch  Llew.  fychan 
ap  Madoc  ap  Owen  fychan. 

Mam  Annes  oedd  Margred  verch  Madoc  fychan  ap 
Madoc  ap  Ririd  ap  Owen  ap  Bleddyn  ap  Tudr 
ap  Rys  Sais  ap  Edn.  ap  Llowarch  Gam  ap 
Lluddocu  ap  Tudr  Trefor. 

Mam  Margred  oedd  Gwladys  verch  Gruffydd  ap  lor- 
werth ap  leva  ap  Mynian  ap  Kynwric  ap 
Riwallon. 

Mam  Gwladys  oedd  Mared  verch  Rys  Ifange  ap 
Rys  Mechyll  ap  Rys  Gryg  ap  Arglwydd  Rys. 

Mam  Siankyn  Kinaston  oedd  Elinor  neu  Seilied 
gwraig  Madoc  ap  Philip  ac  verch  lankin  Ar- 
glwydd Francton. 

Mam  Elinor  oedd  Sion  verch  ...  Arglwydd  Swinart 
0  swydd  Stafford. 

Mam  Madoc  ap  Philip  oedd  Gwerfyl  verch  ac  etif- 
eddes  Roger  fychan  ap  Sir  Roger  Powys  ap 
Gronw  ap  Tudr  ap  Rys  Sais. 

Mam  Philip  ap  Gruffydd  oedd  Gwen  verch  lorwerth 
ap  Gruffri  ap  Heilin  o'r  Frongoch  ym  Mhowys 
ap  Teuan  ap  Adda  ap  Meiric  ap  Kynwric  ap 
Pasgen  ap  Gwyn  ap  Gruffydd  ap  Beli. 

Mam  Gwen  oedd  Tanglwyst  verch  Gruffydd  ap  Edn. 
chwith  ap  Morgan  fychan  ap  Morgan  ap  Howel 
ap  Ririd  Flaidd. 

Mam  Tanglwyst  oedd  Angharad  verch  Dafydd  fyr 
goch. 

Mam  Gruffydd  ap  Gruffydd  fychan  oedd  ...  verch 
Arglwydd  Bwklai. 

Mam  hono  oedd  ...  verch  ...  Barwn  o  Werinton. 

Mam  Gruffydd  fychan  ap  Sir  Gruffydd  oedd  Mallt 
verch  leuan  Goch  ap  Gruffydd  Goch  ap  Gruff- 
ydd ap  Rys  ap  Rydderch  ap  Rys  ap  Cadifor  ap 


LLYFR  SILIN,  343 

Dinwal  ap  Eunydd  ap  Alan  ap  Alsser  ap  Tud- 
wal  ap  Rodri  Mawr. 

Mam  bono  oedd  ...  verch  ...  larll  Arwndel  y  tryd- 
ydd. 

Mam  bono  oedd  ...  verch  ...  larll  Rhydychen. 

Mam  bono  oedd  Elizabetb  vercb  larll  North- 
umberland a  larll  Henfordd  befyd  oedd  ef: 

Mam  Sir  Gruffydd  ap  lorwerth  oedd  Matilda  verch 
Roger  Manley  Com.  Cestr. 

Mam  lorwerth  Goch  oedd  Efa  verch  Bledrws  ap 
Ednowain. 

Plant  Sir  Roger  Kinaston  o  Arglwyddes  Straens 
oedd  Sir  Thomas  Kinaston  vn  unig,  ac  efe  a  fu 
farw  yn  ddietifedd  o  briod  iddo. 

Plant  Sir  Roger  Kinaston  o  Elizabeth^  Grae  oedd 
Humftre  Kinaston  Wyllt ;  Onsli  Kinaston, 
Richard  Kinaston,  Oliver  Kinaston,  Margred 
mam  Sir  Thomas  Hanmer,  Sian  gwraig  Sir 
Thomas  Stiri,  Sian  gwraig  Roger  Thorns  h6n, 
im  arall  briododd  ...  Corbed  o  Li  ac  wedi  bynny 
a  briododd  Mr.  ...  Sakerffild  yn  ymyl  Llundain; 
a  bono  oedd  fam  William  Sakerffild :  Mary* 
gwraig  Howel  ap  Siankin  ap  lorwerth,  a  bono 
a  fu  gyda  Sir  Rys  ap  Thomas ;  A  Ermin  gwraig 
Sion  Eutyn  ap  Sion  ap  Elis  Eutyn,  mam  Sion 
Eutyn  fychan  oedd  hi,  a  mam  Elizabetb  gwraig 
Sion  Trefor  goch  o  Wigynt,  a  Margred  gwraig 
Dafydd  Lloyd  o  Abertanat  ac  i  bono  y  bu 
mab  a  elwyd  Dafydd  Llwyd  fychan  a  fu  farw 
heb  blant  iddo  yn  ifangc. 

Meibion  Gruffydd  ap  Siankyn  oedd  Philip,  Siankyn, 
William,  Sir  Roger,  a  Richard 


^  Yr  un  oedd  Elizabeth  Grae  a  Arglwyddes  Straens, 
canys  gwida  Arglwydd  oedd  Elizabeth  Grae,  nid  amgen 
gwida  Arglwydd  Straens. — 1.  M. 

^  Nage  ;  merch  i  Mary  a  fu.  Gwel  Cambr.  Reg.,  vol. 
i,  p.  144.— L  M. 


344  LLYFR  SILIN. 

I  Philip  Kinaston  y  bu  dwy  verch  iin  ...  a  briododd 
Robert  Corbed  o  Stanart;  a'r  Hall  ...  a  bri- 
ododd • . .  Cliff  o  Averton. 

Cais  Ferched  lankyn  Kinaston  dalen  yn  oL 

(To  be  continued,) 


345 


ROMAN  ROADS  IN  ENGLISH  MAELOR. 

BY  THE  KEV.  CANON    M.   H.   LEE. 

On  the  west  side  of  Croxton  Pool,  in  that  detached 
part  of  Flintshire  which  is  called  English  Maelor,  and 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  north-east  of  the  village  of 
Hanraer,  there  is  a  Roman  way,  to  which  Mr.  Thomp- 
son Watkins  thus  refers  in  his  Roman  Cheshire,  cap.  iii, 
p.  52  :  **  This  is  certainly  the  main  road  from  Chester 
southward.  A  fine  fragment  of  it  I  lately  detected, 
56  feet  in  width,  counting  from  the  depression  mark- 
ing the  fosse  on  each  side,  and  6  feet  in  height.  It  is. 
about  200  yards  in  length,  and  adjoining  it,  on  the  west 
side,  is  a  mound  {mons  exploratoHus)  226  feet  from 
east  to  west,  and  182  feet  from  north  to  south.  The 
preservation  of  this  fragment  of  the  road,  pointing 
almost  exactly  north  and  south,  is  evidently  due  to  the 
fact  that  it  at  this  point  crossed  a  slack  or  hollow 
which  was  formerly  a  morass,  Croxton  Pool  being  the 
sole  remnant  of  the  latter."  Acting  upon  Mr.  Watkins' 
suggestion  I  had  the  mound  and  its  surroundings  care- 
fully probed,  in  the  hope  that  some  milestones  might 
be  found,  but  without  success. 

The  name  of  this  causeway  is  Sawerdek,  and  it  seems 
to  have  belonged  to  William  le  Yonge  in  the  time  of 
Edward  !•  Perhaps  he  may  have  come  with  the  Eng- 
lish army.  His  daughter  and  heiress,  Margaret,  mar- 
ried a  Welsh  magnate  ;  but  they  preserved  the  English 
surname,  their  son  being  called  Morgan  Yonge  of  Saw- 
erdek. This  word  must  certainly  be  allowed  to  stand  to 
the  account  of  etymology,  and  of  history  by  induction. 
Before  it  was  known  that  there  was  any  such  place  a 
Welsh  interpreter  of  border  names  suggested  that  this 
one  was  from  sarn  and  ^^3r=the  beautiful  causeway. 
From  here  a  footpath  goes  east  to  Cadros,  a  point  to 


346  ROMAN   ROADS   IN    ENGLISH    MAELOR. 

be  noticed  afterwards,  while  the  road  is  for  the  present 
lost ;  but  on  crossing  a  field  to  the  south  we  are  met 
by  a  steep,  wooded  bank  about  100  feet  wide,  called 
after  Joan,  the  wife  of  Llewelyn,  **Cae-Shoned'= Janet's 
Field.  In  front  of  this  wood,  within  which  there  is 
quite  a  collection  oifera  naturae — rabbits,  rats,  badgers, 
and  foxes  occupying  the  ground,  and  brown  owls, 
wood-pigeons,  and  pheasants  the  upper  stories, — there 
is  a  long  meadow,  which  was  till  lately  a  pool,  the 
water  being  dammed  up  by  a  causeway  16  yards  wide, 
which  was  removed  a  few  years  ago  by  the  farmer. 
Some  of  the  stones  are  still  lying  about  at  the  place, 
but  do  not  seem  to  have  any  marks  upon  them. 

In  an  exact  line  with  this  sarn  is  a  deep  cutting 
through  the* bank,  the  woods  trending  inward  to  that 
point ;  and  at  the  top  we  find  a  wide  plateau,  called 
the  Caer  Gwyn,  covering  many  acres.  The  rampart  on 
this  northern  side  is  about  500  yards  long ;  the  north- 
east angle  being  an  especially  fine  one,  and  well  pre- 
served. The  west  side  has  been  guarded  by  a  fosse, 
now  filled  up.  On  the  south  there  is  also  a  steep  bank, 
while  on  the  east  it  is  veiy  irregular.  Within  these 
boundaries  we  find  the  name  "  Ty  Prophwyd"=Pro- 
phet's  House  ;  supposed  to  mark  the  abode  of  the  ere- 
mitical person  mentioned  by  St.  Bede,  lib.  ii,  cap.  2, 
who  was  consulted  by  the  Abbot  of  Bangor  when  with- 
standing Augustine. 

Another  name  is  "  Cae  Wilkin".  As  this  word  is 
found  beside  almost  every  camp  in  this  neighbourhood, 
it  is  supposed  to  be  the  Welsh  word  gwalchan=a. 
watch-post. 

Entering  a  field  across  a  road  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Brook  House,  we  pass  a  small  '*  camp  of  construction", 
of  which  the  eastern  angle  and  two  sides  are  preserved. 

Mr.  Watkins  thus  describes  the  innumerable  rect- 
angular elevations  which  are  found,  generally  without 
a  name,  on  the  course  of  the  road.  They  are  supposed 
to  be  the  places  of  defence  which  the  road-makers  used 
during  its  construction. 


ROMAN   ROADS   IN   ENGLISH   MAELOR.  347 

Still  going  south,  a  strong  position  is  reached  called 
"Arabenlock"  in  the  parish  map,  but  written  "  Plas 
Arabi  ap  Karwet"  in  a  deed  of  Edward  11.  Here  again 
there  is  an  angle  to  the  south-east,  and  two  lengths  of 
moat ;  and  on  the  west  the  bank  is  scarped,  with  pools 
at  the  bottom.  Karwyd  was  a  member  of  the  Monas- 
tery of  Bangor  Is  y  Coed  circa  500  a.d.;  and  that  his 
son  Arabi  had  occupied  an  earthwork  upon  the  great 
road  is  established  by  our  finding  the  name  "  Cadlys" 
(W.=a  temporary  camp)  close  by,  this  being  the 
well  known  name  for  a  British  work,  in  this  instance 
one  that  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Romans. 

The  modern  road  from  Eglwys  y  Groes  may  here  be 
on  the  line  of  the  old  one.  It  keeps  on  the  east  side 
of  Llyn  Bedydd  (=lake  of  baptism),  and  away  from  it 
by  two  zigzags,  thus  reaching  the  Smithy  on  the  Elles- 
mere  Road.  Some  old  people  have  heard  that  there 
had  once  been  a  road  much  nearer  the  lake,  and  follow- 
ing the  course  of  its  bed  ;  but  this  cannot  have  been 
the  ancient  via,  because,  as  we  shall  show,  the  lake  was 
not  at  first  drained  when  the  road  was  brought  there, 
but  at  some  later  date.  The  point  now  reached  was 
called  "  Batebruggemore''  ciVca  1284,  when  the  EUes- 
mere  and  Whitchurch  road  was  made ;  and  we  shall 
return  to  it  again. 

From  a  house  just  to  the  west  of  tlie  Smithy  the  via 
may  now  be  easily  tracked  for  more  than  a  mile  to  the 
south-west,  by  a  depression  and  by  abundance  of 
gravel  and  flaky  stones.  There  are  here,  on  the  north 
of  the  ma,  two  houses  called  Lane  Farm.  One  of  them 
is  marked  by  an  old  yew  and  a  large  angular  camp,  to 
which  probably  the  name  "  Kigwenit"  (=?  wheat-field) 
formerly  belonged.  At  the  other  Lane  Farm  a  small 
branch  from  the  ancient  via  once  dropped  in  ;  and  we 
find  the  name  "Ox  Close",  which  occurs  in  several 
other  places  in  this  neighbourhood  beside  Roman  roads. 

The  via  now  reaches  the  "  Old  Lane  Coppy",  and 
runs  the  whole  length  of  it,  with  a  kind  of  earth  wall 
on  the  south  side  ;  its  course  being  known  by  a  depres- 


348  ROMAN   ROADS   IN   ENGLISH   MAELOR. 

sion.  The  meaning  of  this,  of  course,  is  that  the  mate- 
rials were  utilised  in  making  new  roads.  At  the  east 
end  of  this  wood  there  is  a  fragment  which  may,  per- 
haps, represent  the  original  via.  If  so,  it  is  the  first 
that  occurs  since  Sawerdek,  showing  how  complete  has 
been  the  absorption  of  the  ancient  road. 

On  leaving  the  wood  a  gravel-pit  indicates  the  course, 
which  is  the  same  as  the  modern  road  for  200  yards ; 
and  then  it  passed,  at  the  west  of  the  Railway  Station, 
through  a  field  called  "  Brandas":  there  is  a  tradition 
of  burnt  houses  here.  To  the  east  of  Market  Drayton 
there  is  "  Burnt  Wood".  There  is  also  an  oozy  place 
extending  for  some  distance  to  "the  gate"=road, 
and  so  by  Rotten  Row  (?  Sax.  rotteren=to  gather 
together)  to  Eachleys  or  Yetchley  ^?  =gate,  i.e.,  road, 
meadow),  and  by  "Bun-chough"  [ban  clawdd=high. 
embankment),  where  there  is  a  wet  place,  and  a 
choked  up  well  with  white  stones  in  the  shape  of  a 
cross,  to  Blackhurste  Ffordd  (Black  Forest  Road). 
There  is  here  a  stream  which  might  be  forded  ;  but 
as  the  ancient  via  has  been  tracked  through  Salop 
up  to  this  point  {Archceologia  Camhrensis  for  July 
1874)  it  is  probable  that  the  word  refers  to  the  road 
and  not  to  the  water. 

Returning  to  Eachleys,  we  find  a  branch  road  through 
Welshampton  towards  Penley,  and  so  by  Halghton 
Hall  to  Bangor.  "  Bal-mur"  (wall  of  the  high  place) 
occupied  the  site  of  the  modern  Hampton.  The  wall 
is  supposed  to  have  consisted  of  mounds  made  of  gravel, 
some  12  ft.  high,  and  50  yards  apart  from  one  another, 
the  intervening  space  being  stockaded.  Only  one  of 
these  mounds  now  remains.  A  similar  one  that  was 
removed  in  1873,  to  make  way  for  a  new  house,  was 
said  to  be  composed  mostly  of  gravel.  Holmur  Pit,  a 
little  to  the  east,  shows  that  Hole  i'  th'  Wall  is  not  a 
name  confined  to  Northumberland.  We  shall  have 
occasion  to  notice  several  places  called  Gwallia,  a  Wall- 
ington,  etc.,  in  all  of  which  the  wall  may  have  been 
made  on  this  plan. 


ROMAN   ROADS   IN    ENGLISH   MAELOR.  349 

At  Balmur  we  are  in  Salop,  but  cross  the  border  at 
a  steep  hill  called  Bleddin's  Bank  (W.  "  Bleiddian"= 
Lupus).  If  this  refers  to  Bishop  Lupus,  as  we  believe, 
it  is  a  good  instance  of  the  fact  that  the  Roman  high- 
ways were  highways  for  the  spread  of  Christian  teach- 
ing. In  Speed's  map  of  1610  ''Cold  Hampton''  is 
marked  here.     Now  there  are  Wiky  Woods. 

This  road  bears  directly  upon  Penley,  and  so  by 
Halghton  Hall  (**  Halchdyn"=Salt  Tower)  to  Bangor. 
From  Bleddin's  Bank  a  road  re-enters  Salop,  and  points 
for  Segontium,  and  is  noticed  in  Arch,  Camb.  for  July 
1874. 

Returning  to  Eachleys,  one  branch  leaves  the  main 
road  at  the  Row,  by  way  of  Braden  (Broad  Ways) 
Heath,  and  another  leaves  it  at  Brandjis.  Entering 
the  Bettisfield  Park  policies  at  the  south-west  extre- 
mity by  the  Striste  (Strata)  Wood,  one  division  of  the 
latter  zigzags  across  the  park  to  a  point  on  the  present 
road  to  Hanmer,  where  there  was  a  roadside  cross,  and 
where  Roman  Catholics  used,  since  their  separation 
from  the  English  Church,  to  celebrate  funeral  rites 
before  committing  their  dead  to  the  parish  priest  for 
burial :  the  other  went  along  a  slack  in  a  northerly 
direction,  through  the  Park,  till  it  approached  the 
high  ground  at  the  top.  Here,  beside  a  small  gravel- 
pit,  there  seems  to  be  a  fragment  of  the  original  via 
where  it  forks  ;  one  road  going  to  a  camp  just  above, 
on  the  north-east,  the  other  road  preserving  its  own 
line. 

The  camp  referred  to  is  a  very  interesting  place, 
commanding  the  valley  of  the  Dee,  and  is  seen  from 
Chester.  During  the  survey  of  1872  an  Ordnance  flag 
was  fastened  in  a  high  birch-tree  for  the  purpose  of 
observation.  The  four  shoulders  of  this  fine  camp  are 
well  preserved.  The  eastern  side  is  just  100  yards 
long.  Its  name,  "  Car-goss-fur"  (Caer-groes-flbrdd),  was 
known  in  1739,  and  preserved  with  admirable  brevity 
the  memory  of  the  fortified  camp  and  of  a  British  road 
which  crossed  our  road,  and  went  to  Braden  Heath,  etc. 


350  ROMAN   ROADS    IN    ENGLISH    MAELOR. 

Another  name  for  it  is  Highermost  Grediton,  there 
being  two  other  elevations  which  are  included  under 
that  designation.  In  Dr.  Ernst  Forstemann  s  Namen- 
huch,  vol.  ii,  pp,  838,  847,  Gredingan  is  supposed  to  be 
called  after  the  "  Inga  or  descendants  of  one  Gred". 
As,  however,  one  of  the  earlier  townships  of  the  parish 
was  called  "  Tre-bMd-Wledig",  I  conclude  that  the 
two  first  syllables  of  Gredington  have  a  British  ori- 
gin. 

The  second  hill,  called  Mount  Pleasant,  is  Plas  yn 
Grove.  Canvarch  lived  there  c.  450  a.d.,  and  the  pools 
just  below,  on  the  east,  called  "Tig-tegin"  (House  of 
the  Lord),  preserve  that  fact  in  an  archaic  form  of  the 
Welsh  language.  Plas  yn  Grove  is  separated  from  the 
third  Gredington  Hill  by  a  broad  and  deep  trench. 
Here  the  names  Canvarch  s  Croft,  Bryn  Vechan,  and 
Cold  Hill,  are  found.  The  natural  situation  is  a  very 
strong  one,  with  Hanmer  Lake  and  the  Whitmoss  on 
the  north,  a  deep  ravine  on  the  south-west,  and  the 
trench  on  the  east.  The  banks  have  been  scarped  in 
many  places,  but  there  have  been  so  many  alterations 
that  it  is  hard  to  make  out  the  original  plan. 

Our  road  leaves  Gredington  by  a  kind  of  narrow 
isthmus,  in  a  north-west  direction,  passing  a  site  called 
'*  Bailiff's  House"  (so  called  from  Robert  de  Crevecoeur, 
who  in  1278  succeeded  the  Princes  of  Powys  in  the 
government  of  Maelor  Saesneg),  and  descending  into  a 
valley  called  Cumber  s  Garowe  (the  marsh  of  the  stream 
rising  in  the  Combe),  and  crossing  it  by  a  causeway 
known  tempore  Edward  Has  Sarn  Gwenlliant.  A  lady 
of  this  name  was  a  daughter  of  Gruffydd  ab  Cynan, 
and  w^ife  of  Gruffydd  ab  Rhys,  Prince  of  South  Wales. 
In  1135  she  led  an  army,  in  the  absence  of  her  hus- 
band, against  the  Normans,  but  was  defeated,  and 
taken,  and  slain  after  the  battle.  Gwenlliant  is  sup- 
posed to  mean  the  white  stream.  The  present  name 
for  the  place  is  VVaen  Wen  (White  Meadow),  and  at 
this  point,  in  the  time  of  Edward  II,  a  via  regalis  came 
in  from  Cold  Hampton  ;  and  the  branch  road  from  the 


ROMAN    ROADS   IN   ENGLISH   MAELOR.  351 

Row,  by  Braden  Heath,  also  comes  in  now,  descend- 
ing a  steep  bank  called  Tart's  Hill  (?  from  'AarapTq). 

North-west  from  the  Sarn,  the  course  of  the  road 
may  be  tracked  in  a  cutting  through  the  hill,  and  soon 
we  come  to  a  place  called  Street  Ludin^  (Broad  Street), 
where  a  length  of  the  via  may  still  be  seen.  This  was 
formerly  a  hamlet ;  now  there  are  one  farmhouse  and 
a  smithy.  Proceeding  in  the  same  line,  several  gravel- 
pits  testify  to  the  track,  which  is  otherwise  lost.  It 
bears  directly  upon  Halchdyn,  from  whence  it  crossed 
to  Adravelyn  (Mill  Gap)  by  a  bridge  over  the  Colbroc, 
which  in  1699  Edward  Lhwyd  calls  ''Broadway  Bridge''. 
To  the  north  of  Adravelyn  there  are  two  farms  called 
"  Llwydiarth  y  Gwynt",  at  one  of  which  is  a  square, 
moated  enclosure ;  and  close  adjoining,  the  name 
**  Holybush",  which  would  be  a  preaching  station  of 
the  Bangor  monks.  The  distance  to  Bangor  from  here 
is  about  two  miles,  entering  by  High  Gate. 

Returning  to  the  direct  Watling  Street,  we  find 
another  branch  road  at  Bate-brugge-mor.  It  will  have 
been  noticed  that  all  the  branches  have  been  to  the 
west,  the  reason  being  that  on  the  east  the  Black 
Hurst,  with  its  deep  morasses,  nearly  stopped  any 
passage  through  it.  The  word  "  Bate-brugge-mor" 
being  rejected  by  Welsh  scholars,  it  must  bear  the 
Saxon  meaning  of  "  Boat-Bridge-Moor."  The  bed  of 
an  old  lake  is  here  visible  for  about  a  mile  and  a  quar- 
ter, having  been  reduced  by  drainage  to  one-fifth  of  its 
size  ;  and  at  a  farm  called  "  The  Hole"  ( W.  Jieol^  pave- 

*  See  Roman  Ckeahirey  p.  53,  where  Mr.  W.  T.  Watkins  writes  : 
"  The  fragment  of  road  called  *  Street  Ludin'  is  visible  in  a  small 
croft  on  the  south  side  of  the  road  leading  from  Penley  to  Hanmer 
(both  in  Flintshire).  It  is  118  feet  in  length,  33  feet  wide,  at  pre- 
sent 3  feet  in  height,  and  grass -grown,  pointing  north-north-west 
and  sonth-soath-east.  It  is  traceable  in  the  field  across  the  road  to 
the  north  by  its  gravel-track,  just  beyond  which  a  new  gravel-pit 
has  been  opened  upon  its  site,  and  a  little  further  there  is  an  old 
one.  Its  direction  suits  well  for  Bangor ;  and  if  any  Roman  road 
has  gone  to  that  place  from  Shropshire,  I  think  this  will  be  the  one. 
But  it  is  out  of  my  present  province  to  describe  it." 


352      ROMAN  ROADS  IN  ENGLISH  MAELOR. 

ment)  there  was  a  road  leading  to  Hanmer,  and  in  con- 
stant  use  up  to  1830.  This  road  must  have  been  made 
since  the  word  ''Bate-brugge'*  was  given  to  the  place, 
for  that  evidently  refers  to  an  older  state  of  things, 
when  the  lake  was  full. 

Having  looked  in  vain  for  any  traces  of  a  bridge,  I 
conclude  that  it  was  made  of  boats.  Many  such  in- 
stances will  be  remembered,  e.g,^  those  in  Hdt.,  iv, 
88,  89  ;  vii,  36 ;  and  viii,  28  ;  also  the  "  ratibus  junc- 
tis"  of  Livy  (lib.  xxi,  cap.  27),  when  Hannibal  was 
crossing  the  Rhone  in  218  B.C.;  and  the  plan  adopted 
for  encouraging  the  elephants  to  go  over  (cap.  28) 
"rates,  pontis  in  modum,  humo  injecta, const raverunt." 
This  is  confirmed  by  the  field-name, **Lathbridge"  (Sax. 
ZflPC^=division  of  a  parish  or  county),  and  the  local 
name  Bateman.  In  the  Domesday  manor  of  Hurding- 
berie  there  is  a  Radman.  Here,  from  the  beginning  of 
parish  registers,  we  have  a  Bateman ;  and  as  **  Bat- 
man" occurs  in  the  Salisbury  MSS.  with  the  arms,  sable ^ 
a  chevron  ar.  between  three  escallopshells  ar.^  we  may 
conclude  that  it  is  connected  with  the  history  of  the 
place. 

Having  crossed  the  lake-bed,  we  find  a  field  named 
"  Troych"  {tres  vici) ;  and  as  there  is  a  construction- 
camp  to  the  west,  to  which  a  footpath  leads,  there 
must  have  been  a  third  road  once.  The  other  one  pro- 
ceeds north-west  through  a  boggy  part  called  the 
Arowry  {'Apovpa)  Moss,  but  which  formerly  bore  the 
name  of  *'  Tir  y  Gors"  (Land  of  the  Fen).  It  may  also 
be  called  land  in  the  fen,  for  a  high  place  (evidently 
artificial)  extends  for  more  than  a  hundred  yards,  beside 
which  the  road  runs,  and  which  was  once,  perhaps,  a 
British  hamlet. 

From  here  to  Hanmer  village  there  are  two  ways, 
the  chief  one  going  past  an  old  inn  called  "  Tafarn  y 
Gwint"  (Windy  Tavern),  which  was  till  1788  the  grand 
stand  of  the  racecourse.  Those  who  cultivate  this 
ground  have  found  a  good  many  silver  coins,  and  in 
one  instance  a  groat  of  Henry  VIII. 


ROMAN    ROADS   IN   ENGLISH   MAELOR.  353 

Below  this  the  road  entered,  at  right  angles,  a  deep, 
wooded  ravine  called  the  "Striga  Lane"  (W.  **  Ystro- 
gul",  that  which  opens).  This  is  supposed  to  be  the 
British  name  of  Hanmer  as  it  is  of  Chepstow.  At  pre- 
sent the  road  leads  down  to  the  side  of  the  Lake  ;  but 
recent  excavations  showed  that  above  a  wild  sand 
there  was  fox-bench  (a  brown  and  soft  kind  of  slate), 
and  above  that  a  blue  clay  turned  into  mud  by  water. 
The  present  length  of  the  Lake  is  1,000  yards,  but 
Leland  (c.  1530  a.d.)  puts  it  at  a  mile;  and  a  water- 
course, lately  taken  up,  contained  wooden  pipes  which 
were  thought  to  date  back  to  that  time.  The  ap- 
proaches to  the  village  were  quite  different,  therefore, 
three  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago ;  and  the  lower 
reach  of  the  Striga  Lane  would  be  nothing  but  a  grip 
in  the  bank,  the  road  going  due  north  along  a  croft 
called  the  "Maes  y  Deikws"  (Field  of  the  Dykes) 
towards  a  low-lying  circular  camp  which  has  been  sur- 
rounded with  water,  like  the  Berth  at  Baschurch,  and 
upon  which  a  Saxon  Jiunnery,  and  at  a  later  date  the 
mediaeval  rectory-house,  used  to  stand.  The  banks 
surrounding  it  bear  those  marks  of  garden -terraces 
which  may  be  seen  on  the  hills  to  the  north-east  of 
Folkestone,  and  in  other  places  where  Roman  soldiers 
have  been  quartered.  These  terraces  look  very  much 
like  the  regular  sheep-tracks  on  the  Westmorland 
fells,  but  are  broader. 

The  village  of  Hanmer  bore  the  name  of  ChadhuU 
from  670-1170,  and  the  only  interference  with  the 
shape  indicated  is  on  the  east  side,  where  the  via 
entered  it.  Following  the  present  street  of  the  village, 
it  turned  along  some  high  ground  above  the  church- 
yard, and  crossing  a  ravine  (probably  by  a  bridge)  pro- 
ceeded towards  the  north-west,  along  Halghton  Lane, 
to  Emral,  and  by  the  Dwn-gre  ( W.  Tan-y-graig=Under 
the  Crag)  Gate  to  Bangor. 

Returning  now  to  Sawerdek,  on  the  main  road,  we 
will  trace  its  course  through  English  Maelor  northward. 
At  a  distance  of  400  yards  to  the  north-west  there  is  a 


354       ROMAN  ROADS  IN  ENGLISH  MAELOR. 

natural  mound  beside  a  farm  called  the  Piatt  House, 
which  seems  very  likely  to  have  been  a  watch-post, 
and  from  there  proceeding  due  north  ;  beside  the  farm- 
house called  Croxton,  some  Roman  bricks  were  found 
in  1866,  when  digging  a  hole  to  bury  cattle  which  had 

died  from  the  cattle-plague.     Then  follows  the 

Bont  (Bridge)  Meadow,  some  preceding  word  having 
been  lost ;  and  a  steep  hill  is  ascended,  which  preserves 
marks  of  the  various  road-makers,  the  modern  road 
cutting  much  more  deeply  into  the  bank  than  the 
earlier  one.  When  almost  at  the  top,  there  is  a  very 
fine  branch  to  the  west,  and  the  place  was  called 
"Trowch"  {tres  vici)  by  Edward  Lhuyd  in  1 698.  The 
branch  is  plainly  to  be  seen  along  a  high  grass  field 
called  "  The  Sands",  then  in  a  deep  zigzag  through  a 
field  pronounced  "  The-a-Tree",  and  so  past  various 
square  camps  until  it  joins  the  road  for  Eraral. 

North  of  Trowch  the  main  road  has  had  its  course 
altered  a  little  to  the  west  since  1830,  and  in  the  bank 
was  found  ajar  containing  silver  coins  of  Queen  Eliza- 
beth, to  the  value  of  £30.  The  ancient  via  then  entered 
a  field  marked  No.  428  in  the  26-inch  Ordnance  Sur- 
vey, which  is  always  wet  in  the  middle,  and  contains 
large  stones  upon  which  the  plough  strikes. 

From  this  point  there  is,  to  the  west,  a  later  road 
running  more  or  less  parallel  to  the  old  one,  and  join- 
ing it  two  miles  further  on.  It  runs  right  through  a 
small  British  earthwork  at  the  *' Gipsy  Bank",  then 
passes  Willington  Cross  (so  called  from  an  old  way 
crossing  it,  and  also  because  there  was  at  some  early 
period  a  church  or  religious  house  there),  and  then  a 
farm  called  *'Traws-tre",  which  seems  somehow  to  have 
obtained  a  name  that  does  not  belong  to  it. 

From  the  Gipsy  Bank  the  ancient  via  enters  the 
large  park-field  adjoining  Willington  Old  Hall.  This 
was  the  ancient  seat  of  the  Dymocks.  To  the  south- 
west of  the  modern  farmhouse  is  a  square  camp,  of 
which  two  fine  angles  may  still  be  traced,  though  a 
gravel-pit  has  encroached  deeply  on  the  north-eastern 


ROMAN   ROADS   IN   ENGLISH   MAELOR.  355 

side  of  it.  This  is  probably  the  real  Traws-tre  (Town 
of  the  Crossing),  as  a  road  came  through  at  this  point 
which  was  of  sufficient  importance  to  give  a  name  to 
the  district  in  British  times.  At  this  part  of  the  bor- 
der, where  Welsh  and  English  lived  together,  as  the 
name  Maelor  Saesneg,  or  English  Maelor,  indicates, 
there  are  the  old  British  names  left,  or  English  trans- 
lations of  them,  and  in  rare  instances  new  names 
altogether.  Here  traws  (titans)  evidently  refers  to 
cross  roads,  and  must  be  referred  to  the  site  of  the 
Roman  camp  ;  but  the  alternative  road,  at  the  lower 
level,  must  also  be  an  old  one.  On  its  course  we  have 
the  name  '*  Willington  Cross";  and  as,  by  the  instance 
of  John  the  Baptist,  we  know  that  fords  and  cross-roads 
were  the  points  most  likely  to  draw  numbers  of  people 
together,  so  at  these  the  Church  placed  its  missionaries. 
Accordingly  we  find  here  the  word  carreg  (W.  a  stone), 
which  indicates  a  church;  the  name  Meuryg  (Maurice), 
which  may  be  that  of  the  builder ;  a  school-hoxxse  field, 
where  no  school  is  or  ever  has  been,  according  to  any 
tradition,  but  which,  perhaps,  embalms  the  Irish  word 
scolog=a,  priest,  mentioned  by  Mr.  Skene  in  his  Celtic 
Scotland,  vol.  i,  p.  212.  In  Carnarvonshire  the  school- 
master is  still  commonly  called  "The  School",  and  till 
lately  the  priest  and  schoolmaster  were,  in  remote  parts 
of  England  and  Wales,  one  and  the  same.  The  field 
that  bears  this  name  is  also  triangular  (W.  ti^iphen), 
see  History  of  St.  David's,  by  the  Rev.  Basil  Jones,  p. 
252.  All  this  points  to  a  time  when  Irish  missionaries 
were  doing  the  work  which  the  Britons  shrank  from, 
viz.,  mixing  with  the  invading  Saxons,  and  trying  to 
win  them  from  their  idolatries.  The  name  "  Gwilling- 
ton''  (so  written  in  a  deed  of  1284)  has  been  thought 
to  come  from  Gwyddelod=Iri8h. 

Near  the  square  camp  at  Trawstre  there  are  many 
fragments  of  a  hard  kind  of  stone,  but  none  have  yet 
been  found  bearing  an  inscription.  One  stone  which 
had  often  broken  the  plough  was  at  last  examined  by 
the  tenant,  Mr.  F.  Jones,  and  when   two   men   had 

5th  8Eie.,  VOL.  ▼.  25 


356       ROMAN  ROADS  IN  ENGLISH  MAELOR. 

worked  at  it  for  two  or  three  days  there  was  seen 
something  like  an  enormous  stone  tree,  which  was 
apparently  the  summit  of  a  mass  of  rock.  No  trace  of 
the  via  can  be  seen  here ;  but  at  the  gate  leading 
down  to  Dy mock's  Mill  the  Liverpool  Waterworks'  men, 
in  1885, cut  through  some  old  foundation.  A  road  came 
in  here  from  the  east  of  Maelor. 

The  Watling  Street  proceeds  along  a  very  fine  cause- 
way called  "  Bryn  Arglwydd"  (Lord's  Hill),  and  so  by 
Tallarn  Green  to  the  Sarn.  Tal,  s.  "  projection",  and 
ara  or  aroura  is  ploughed  land,  from  which  comes  the 
English  word  to  "  ear".  The  Lord  s  Hill  used  to  have 
fine  trees  upon  it,  and  the  village  wakes  were  held 
there.  On  the  west  side  of  a  ravine  is  a  square  enclo- 
sure called  "  Hal  yn  Talarn".  There  were  many  other 
earthworks  adjoining  it,  all  of  which  were  effaced  about 
1800. 

The  present  Sarn  Bridge  is  about  300  yards  lower 
down  the  stream  (the^Elfe)  than  the  old  crossing,  as 
may  easily  be  seen  on  the  two  sides.  After  that,  the 
first  trace  of  the  road  is  opposite  the  gate  of  Threap- 
wood  Vicarage,  where  there  is  a  slack  to  the  west  of 
the  present  road,  and  the  remains  of  a  British  camp, 
which  gave  its  name  of  Broch  Maelor  or  Brochdyn 
(now  Broughton)  to  the  King  who  lost  the  day  at  the 
battle  of  Bangor  in  607. 

As  the  via  now  enters  Cheshire,  we  return  upon  its 
course  as  before,  noting  the  various  branches.  At 
Brochdyn  a  main  road  came  in  from  H6n  Ddinas  ai/d 
the  valley  of  the  Vemiew,  which  will  be  traced  after- 
wards. Going  back,  therefore,  to  the  Sarn,  which 
crosses  the  Elfe,  we  find  that  it  must  have  always  been 
the  unfailing  point  of  divergence  for  Bangor  Monacho- 
rum,  because  it  was  the  first  place  where  the  corner 
could  always  be  turned.  There  are  names  that  would 
indicate  the  course  of  a  road  in  the  meadows  between 
Shocklach  (Cheshire)  and  Bangor;  but  that  route 
might  be  stopped  now  by  a  flood  of  the  Dee.  But  the 
road  from  Brochdyn  might  also  be  stopped,  and  from 
a  still  more  effectual  cause. 


ROMAN   ROADS   IN   ENGLISH    MAELOR.  357 

Two  miles  above  the  Sam  Bridge,  in  the  valley  of 
the  Wiches,  as  it  is  called,  and  just  opposite  a  prehis- 
toric fort  on  the  Cheshire  side  of  the  stream,  called 
**  Old  Castle",  there  was  found,  some  years  ago,  a  ship's 
anchor  in  the  bed  of  the  stream.  This  fact,  together 
with  the  recollection  how  short  a  time,  comparatively, 
had  passed  since  Chester  was  a  seaport,  made  it  evi- 
dent that  the  lands  must  have  been  rising  on  this  coast 
for  many  centuries ;  and  also,  we  may  add,  that  if  a 
Roman  way  was  not  visible  in  some  place  where  we 
expected  to  find  it,  we  must  not  hastily  conclude  *'  non 
invenienda". 

Turning  our  faces  towards  Bangor,  the  road  is,  per- 
haps, one  that  leaves  the  middle  of  Tallarn  Green  for 
the  south,  through  a  farmyard,  and  so  turns  to  a  place 
called  the  "  Cae  Leika"  (?  leuca,  a  league).  This  is  the 
name  of  two  farmhouses ;  and  probably  there  have  been 
league-stones  here  once,  but  no  inquiries  have  been 
successful  in  discovering  any.  The  modern  road  is 
remarkable  for  its  corners  and  windings,  but  the  mar- 
ket people  patiently  follow  them  all  in  going  to  Ban- 
gor and  Wrexham.  This  road  comes  soon  to  Turpin's 
Ford.  There  were  "  tres  Francigense''  in  that  manor 
(Worthenbury)  in  1088,  from  one  of  whom  this  name 
may  have  come,  or  from  a  still  earlier  source.  Wall- 
ington  Lane  still  conducts  the  traveller  to  Dwngre  and 
Bangor. 

Returning  to  Sarn,  we  must  notice  that  the  Wiche 
valley,  with  its  deep  forest  and  gloomy  ravines  (one  of 
its  gorges  is  called '* The  Devils  Entry"),  must  have 
been  a  protection  to  Maelor  on  the  north.  There  were 
many  British  roads  cutting  it  through,  but  these  passed 
by  forts  "which  could  sufficiently  guard  the  passage. 

From  the  camp  at  Hal  yn  lalarn,  the  "  War- Way" 
(?  gwern^  swamp)  enters  Cheshire  by  the  **  Graves" 
Farm,  which  may  have  been  a  second  Lichfield  (Field 
of  the  Dead).  At  Dymock's  Mill,  the  Gelli,  Old  Castle, 
the  two  Wiches,  and  Wolves' Acre,  there  are  old  ways, 

25  > 


358  ROMAN   ROADS   IN   ENGLISH   MAELOR. 

and  in  many  of  them  we  can  still  see  how  they  were 
guarded. 

The  two  remaining  branch  roads  which  come  in  at 
or  near  Bryn  Arglwydd,  and  at  Trawstre,  we  shall 
trace  afterwards,  when  following  another  important 
via  which  cuts  Maelor  from  north  to  south.  Particu- 
lars as  to  that  via  were  given  in  the  Arch.  Camb.  for 
July  1874,  p.  200,  and  for  April  1875,  p.  164,  and  it 
was  suggested  that  its  name  might  have  been  the 
'*  Mala  Platea".  It  was  tracked  from  Sansaw  (?  Sarn 
Saeson),  seeming  to  come  there  from  South  Shropshire, 
up  to  a  place  called  "Windy  Arbour',  on  the  south  side 
of  Whixall  Moss.  In  Whixall  a  "  Plat  Lane"  occurs, 
cutting  this  road  at  right  angles,  and  apparently  bor- 
rowing its  name. 


359 


laetoCelosi  anU  mtim  of  l&ooUsi, 


Lectures  on  the  Origin  and  Growth  of  Religion  as  Illustrated 
BY  Celtic  Heathendom.  By  John  Bhys,  M.A.  The  Hibberfc 
Lectures  for  1886.     London  :  Williams  and  Norgate. 

After  considerable  tbongh  unavoidable  delay  tbe  lectures  on  tbe 
Origin  and  Growth  of  Religion  as  illustrated  by  Celtic  Heathendom, 
delivered  in  the  spring  of  1886  by  our  esteemed  fellow-member, 
Professor  Rhys,  have  appeared  in  print ;  yet  not  in  their  entirety, 
for  the  two  lectures  on  the  Arthurian  legends,  having  the  most  direct 
interest  for  the  generality  of  people,  are  reserved  to  form  a  volume 
which  the  Professor  hopes  to  publish  during  the  forthcoming  winter. 

In  the  number  and  variety  of  illustrations  from  the  mythology  and 
folk-lore  of  Celtic  peoples;  in  the  parallelisms  drawn  from  the 
beliefs  and  literature  of  India  and  Greece  on  the  one  hand,  and  of 
Germany  and  Scandinavia  on  the  other ;  in  its  suggestive  though 
not  dogmatic  explanations  of  the  phases  of  early  reh'gious  belief; 
and  in  its  valuable  philological  speculations, — the  present  volume  is 
not  equalled  by  anything  hitherto  published. 

M»  Gaidoz  and  writers  in  the  Bevue  Oeltique  have  done  much  to 
elucidate  the  religion  of  Gaul,  while  M.  d'Arbois  de  Jubainville  has 
written  several  works  on  the  mythic  periods  of  Irish  history.  To 
these  writers  and  to  many  others  Professor  Rhys  acknowledges  his 
indebtedness  when  traversing  ground  already  surveyed  ;  but  when 
he  deals  with  the  incidents  and  personages  of  Welsh  mythology  he 
displays  most  folly  the  stores  of  his  own  knowledge,  and  opens  up 
the  literature  and  traditions  of  a  people  hitherto  practically  un- 
known. 

What  may  be  termed  the  philological  method  of  myth  interpreta- 
tion has  been  considerably  discredited  of  late.  Mr.  Andrew  Lang 
has  humorously  bantered  philologists  upon  their  differences, — 
"  Kuhn  sees  fire  everywhere,  and  fire-myths ;  Mr.  Max  Miiller  sees 
dawn  and  dawn-myths ;  Schwartz  sees  storm  and  storm-myths,  and 
so  on."  {Culture  and  Myth,  p.  70.)  Professor  Rhys  recognises  that 
the  opposite  or  anthropological  method  is  in  principle  both  simple 
and  sound ;  but  being  a  philologist  par  excellence^  he  naturally  fol- 
lows the  philological  method,  so  that  we  do  not  get  any  of  the  Celtic 
myths  compared  with  those  of  non- Aryan  races. 

The  romantic  tales  of  the  Welsh  known  under  the  modem  term 
of  *'  Mabinogion",  divide  themselves  into  an  earlier  and  a  later 
cycle  ;  and  these  divisions  have  hitherto  been  taken  as  correspond- 
ing, the  first  to  a  purely  mythic  period,  the  second  to  an  age  that 


360  REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 

is  at  least  semi-historic.  The  personages  figuring  in  the  earlier 
cycle,  such  as  Gwydion,  Pwyll,  Llew  (correctly  Lien),  are  treated  by 
the  Professor  as  manifestations  in  human  form  of  pagan  deification 
of  natural  objects,  whilst  the  incidents  related  of  them  are  regarded 
as  primitiye  attempts  to  explain  the  action  of  natural  forces.  Accord- 
ing to  this  manner  of  treating  mythology,  Gwydion  becomes  the 
culture  god ;  Pwyll  the  head  of  Hades  ;  and  Lieu  the  sun-god. 
The  stories  told  of  these  anthropomorphic  deities  are  dissected  with 
marvellous  patience,  and  their  correspondence  with  the  myths  of 
other  Aryan  peoples  brought  out  with  great  skill,  especially  in  the 
case  of  Irish  mythology.  The  theories — many  of  them  avowedly 
tentative — based  on  results  obtained  from  the  philological  examina- 
tion of  the  names  borne  by  these  deities,  must  be  left  for  settlement 
to  philologists ;  but  this  being  a  method  of  inquiry  in  which  the 
identification  of  localities  is  of  considerable  importance,  we  wish  to 
draw  the  author's  attention  to  one  debatable  point. 

A  place  associated  with  some  of  the  actions  of  Gwydion  was  called 
"Caer  Seon",  and  is  identified  by  Professor  Rhys  with  Segontium; 
his  excellent  note  on  the  philology  of  the  word  making  the  sugges- 
tion plausible.  But  the  ancient  fortress  crowning  the  hill  above 
the  town  of  Conwy  is  known  to  this  day  as  Gaer  Seion  (Williams' 
History  of  Aherconway^  p.  112),  and  a  plan  of  the  place  under  the 
same  name  will  be  found  in  vol.  ii  of  the  Archceologia  CambrensiB 
(1st  Series),  though  at  an  earlier  page  it  is  alluded  to  as  Caer 
Lleion.  This  part  of  the  Menai  Straits  would  suit  the  story  just  as 
well  as  the  Carnarvon  end,  while  the  region  along  the  lower  reaches 
of  the  Conwy  river  is  a  favourite  spot  in  Welsh  legendary  lore. 

One  of  the  points  least  satisfactorily  made  out  is  the  identification 
of  the  god  Nod  ens  (whose  temple  stood  at  Lydney  on  the  Severn) 
with  the  Celtic  Mars  as  well  as  NeptunCyWhich  latter  be  undoubtedly 
was,  while  by  his  parallelism  with  the  Irish  Nuada  he  has  also  to 
be  regarded  as  Zeus. 

The  later  cycle  of  Welsh  mythology,  centering  as  it  does  in  King 
Arthur  and  his  court,  has  usually  been  considered  as  founded  upon 
a  purely  historic  basis,  though  the  small  modicum  of  fact  may  have 
been  almost  buried  beneath  an  immense  accretion  of  fable.  Pro- 
fessor Hhys,  however,  treats  it  as  being  but  a  later  phase  of  the 
pagan  beliefs  that  gave  birth  to  the  personages  of  the  earlier  cycle. 
Arthur  becomes  the  culture  hero.  Merlin  a  Zeus  of  Brythonic 
paganism,  the  Knights  of  the  Bound  Table  solar  luminaries  of 
different  magnitudes,  and  the  personality  of  Taliesin  ''is  as  mythic 
as  that  of  Gwydion  and  Merliu."  Such  evidence  as  goes  for 
their  corporeal  existence,  for  instance  the  reference  of  Aneurin,  in 
the  Gododiuj  to  his  brother  poet  Taliesin,  is  never  even  alluded 
to.  The  British  King,  Caswallon,  vanishes.into  thin  air ;  and  Mer- 
lin having  become  a  Brythonic  Zeus,  Yortigern  has  to  settle 
down  into  a  Brythonic  Cronus.  The  historical  evidence  in  favour 
of  Maelgwn  appears  to  have  been  a  little  too  strong  to  allow  of 
his  admittance   into  the  Professor's  Pantheon,   though  there  are 


REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OF  BOOKS.  361 

incidents  in  his  career  that  give  him  strong  claims  to  inclnsion. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  great  Irish  hero,  Cucholainn,  is  a  snbjeot 
capable  of  sustaining  any  role  ;  bnt  it  mnst  be  borne  in  mind  that 
enhemeristically  considered  he  is  separated  by  at  least  four  cen- 
turies from  Maelgwn  and  Arthur.  Into  the  Professor's  treatment 
of  this  branch  of  his  subject  it  will,  however,  be  more  convenient 
to  enter  at  some  length  when  his  promised  work  on  Arthur  has 
appeared. 

The  author  treats  his  subject  in  the  widest  possible  manner,  and 
one  of  the  little  digressions  be  makes  is  the  following  on  the  date 
of  Stonehenge.  After  giving  the  subject  all  the  attention  possible 
he  has  come  to  the  conclusion  that  *'  we  cannot  do  better  than  fol- 
low the  story  of  Geoffrey,  which  makes  Stonehenge  the  work  of 
Merlin  Emrys,  commanded  by  another  Emrys,  which  I  interpret  to 
mean  that  the  temple  belonged  to  the  Celtic  Zeus,  whose  later 
legendary  self  we  have  in  Merlin.  It  would  be  in  vain  to  look  ibr 
any  direct  argument  for  or  against  such  a  hypothesis.  One  can  only 
BBsj  that  it  suits  the  facts  of  the  case,  and  helps  us  to  understand 
others  of  a  somewhat  similar  nature.  What  sort  of  a  temple  could 
have  been  more  appropriate  for  the  primary  god  of  light  and  of  the 
luminous  heavens  than  a  spacious,  open-air  enclosure,  of  a  circular 
form,  like  Stonehenge  ?  Nor  do  I  see  any  objection  to  the  old  idea 
that  Stonehenge  was  the  original  of  the  famous  Temple  of  Apollo 
in  the  island  of  the  Hyperboreans,  the  stories  about  which  were 
based,  in  the  first  instance,  most  likely  on  the  journal  of  Pytheas' 
travels." 

This  is  enough  to  make  that  school  of  Welsh  historians  whom 
the  Professor  scornfully  terms  '*  charlatans"  forgive  the  epithet,  and 
forget  his  heresy  on  other  matters.  For  our  own  part  we  consider 
that  the  greatest  historical  scholar  of  modem  days,  the  late  Dr. 
Guest,  practically  settled  the  date  and  uses  of  Stonehenge.  But 
we  observe  that  Dr.  Guest  himself  would  come  under  the  title 
of  *'  charlatan",  as  being  one  who  considered  that  the  historical 
tribe  of  the  Coritani  might  have  been  the  Coraniaid  of  the  Triads. 
What  will  also  go  very  far  to  mollify  our  present  day  "  charlatans" 
is  the  author's  opinion  that  the  modern  Eisteddfodio  Gorsedd  is 
lineally  descended  from  a  court  of  which  the  Celtic  Zeus  was  origin- 
ally regarded  as  the  spiritual  president,  and  that  the  antiquity  of 
what  is  known  as  the  Gorsedd  Prayer  is  favoured  because  it  con- 
tains nothing  distinctly  Christian. 

Professor  Khys  speaks  approvingly  of  the  new  philological  theory 
which  traces  the  early  home  of  the  Aryans  to  North  Europe  rather 
than  to  Central  Asia,  and  it  certainly  enables  him  to  compare  Celtic 
and  Teutonic  myths  with  results  of  considerable  importance ;  but 
formidable  objections  have  yet  to  be  overcome,  and  by  no  means 
the  last  word  has  been  said  upon  this  subject.  The  book  contains 
so  complete  a  collection  of  myths  and  folk-lore  that,  apart  alto- 
gether from  its  theories,  it  is  a  work  that  no  member  of  our  Asso- 
ciation should  be  without. 


362  REVIEWS  AND  NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 


Llanellt  Parish  Church,  its  History  and  Records,  with  Notes 
RELATING  TO  THE  TowN.  By  ARTHUR  Mee.  Llanellj:  printed 
at  the  South  Wales  Press  Offices,  1888.  8\ro. ;  pp.  109.  Illus- 
trated with  two  Photographs  and  five  Plates. 

We  have  to  commend  the  author  of  this  little  work  for  the  spirit 
that  has  prompted  his  undertaking  rather  than  for  the  manner  in 
which  it  has  heen  executed.  There  is  not  a  parish  in  Wales  the 
history  of  whose  church  is  not  worth  the  telling;  the  difficulty  is 
to  find  a  man  both  willing  and  competent  to  undertake  the  task  of 
recording  the  annals  of  his  neighbourhood. 

The  chief  defect  in  Mr.  Mee*s  work  is  the  almost  total  neglect  of 
what  we  may  term  the  architectural  portion  of  his  scheme.  The 
very  stones  of  an  edifice  such  as  the  parish  church  of  Llanelly 
should  go  far  towards  supplying  many  point-s  of  its  history ;  and  at 
the  very  least  we  ought  to  have  been  vouchsafed  a  ground-plan 
with  accurate  measurements ;  but  of  all  such  particulars  the  book 
is  almost  entirely  wanting.  However,  the  reverence  for  what  is 
old,  because  it  conjures  up  thoughts  of  the  pasti,  dwells  in  Mr.  Mee, 
and  we  earnestly  hope  that  he  will  continue  his  investigations 
and  at  the  same  time  enlarge  the  scope  of  his  method.  To  this 
end  we  wish  to  draw  his  attention,  and  that  of  others  who  would 
emulate  his  good  example,  te  the  chapter  on  "How  to  Write  the 
History  of  a  Parish'*,  contained  in  Mr.  Walter  Rye's  excellent 
book  called  Records  and  Record  Searching,  fropi  which  we  cannot 
refrain  quoting,  pro  bono  ptiblicOy  this  paragraph:  **A8  you  are 
strong  be  merciful.  If  you  can  restrain  yourself,  don*t  discover  that 
your  church  is  of  rather  earlier  date  than  Sfc.  Martin's  at  Canter- 
bury, or  is  founded  on  the  site  of  a  Roman  temple.  You  may  be 
right;  but  to  declare  yourself  will  in  all  probability  destroy  your 
credit  as  a  trustworthy  tepographer."  To  which  might  be  added, 
for  the  especial  benefit  of  writers  on  Welsh  churches,  ^^  DonH  see 
Druids  everywhere",  though  few  are  proof  against  the  temptation. 

The  Registers,  of  which  Mr.  Mee  gives  a  full  transcription,  con- 
tain no  notices  of  much  value,  and  in  another  edition  may  be  cur- 
tailed without  loss.  The  place-names  contained  therein  are  more 
interesting  than  those  of  individuals  ;  and  one,  Y  Rhandir,  we  note 
for  the  special  benefit  of  Mr.  Palmer,  Mr.  Edward  Owen,  and  others 
interested  in  the  survivals  of  old  Welsh  institutions.  We  hope 
Mr.  Mee  will  widen  his  bounds  so  as  to  take  in  the  whole  of  his 
parish,  and  will  make  this  little  work  the  pioneer  of  a  larger  and 
more  important  volume. 


363 


ardbaealogical  Batt^  anU  ^utxiti. 

Inventory. — "Inventory  made  7  March,  27  Hen.  VIII  [1536],  by 
Jas.  Leicbe,  Esq.,  Morgan  Lewes,  general  receiver  to  the  late 
bishop  of  St.  David's  (Richard  Rawlins,  who  died  18  February 
1536),  Sir  Thos.  Yonge,  steward  of  Honsehold,  and  Sir  Grif- 
fith Lloide,  chaplain  to  the  said  Bishop,  Thos.  Busshope  and 
John  Phelpe,  husbandmen  dwelling  in  the  lordship  of  Lantefey 
(Lamphey),  Thos.  Persivalle,  Thos.  Haward,  chamberlain,  and 
Matthew  Tiele,  clerk  of  the  kitchen,  of  all  the  goods,  moveable 
and  immoveable,  that  the  late  Bishop  had  at  his  death,  at  his 
manor  place  of  Lantefey  or  elsewhere,  with  all  debts  or  rents 
owing  to  him. 

**  In  the  Bishop's  own  chamber,  where  he  was  accustomed  to  take 
his  rest,  and  where  he  died. — A  bedstead  of  boards  after  the  old 
fashion,  12d. ;  a  mattress,  3s. ;  a  feather  bed  and  bolster,  26s.  8d. ; 
a  covering  of  verdure  work  with  birds  and  lions,  and  lined  with  can- 
vas, 20s.;  hangings  of  old  tapestry  work  with  images,  26s.  8d.;  a 
table  board  with  2  trestles,  2s. ;  an  old  carpet  belonging  thereto,  2s.; 
a  bnff  chair,  6s.  8d. ;  a  trussing  coffer  bonnd  with  iron,  with  lock 
and  key,  5s.:  in  it  in  gold  and  silver,  £149  :  9  :  6j  an  oyster  table,  4d.; 
2  stools  of  easement,  and  a  stool  wherein  the  Bishop  was  accas- 
tomed  to  be  carried,  12d.  ;  a  short  carpet  of  Dornyx  lying  upon  the 
oyster  table ;  a  *  beedes'  with  6  stones  of  glass,  with  a  signet  of 
copper  gilted,  12d. ;  2  overworn  rochets,  13s.  4d. ;  2  coarse  rochets, 
overworn  and  somewhat  broken,  6s.  8d. ;  other  items=£157  :  7  :  10. 

"  In  the  Chamberlain's  Chamber. — An  old  bedstead,  bedding,  and 
a  coffer,  13s.  2d. 

"  In  the  Wardrobe. — An  old  crimson  kirtle  furred  with  old  mar- 
turues,  33s.  4fd. ;  4  other  kirtles,  black,  scarlet,  and  crimson ;  a 
chimere  of  scarlet  single,  perished  with  moths,  30s. ;  a  hood  of  scar- 
let lined  with  changeable  silk,  6s.  8d. ;  a  parliament  robe  of  scarlut, 
eaten  with  a  rat  in  the  back,  and  perished  with  moths,  40s.;  a 
covering  of  a  horse  litter  of  coarse  scarlet,  26s.  8d. ;  a  coat  of  mails 
covered  with  satin  of  Bruges,  6s.  8d.  =  £10  10s. 

*'  The  Checknrd  Chamber. — A  trussing  bed,  bedding,  a  sparver 
of  yellow  and  red  say,  an  old  pressboard,  a  range  of  4  bars  of  iron, 
&c.,  13s.  4d. 

*'  The  Great  Chamber. — An  old  trussing  bed,  sparver,  and  car- 
tains,  green  say  hanging  eaten  with  moths,  &c.,  29s.  lOd. 

"  The  Gardine  Chamber. — Bed  and  bedding,  an  old  carpet  of 
Turkey  work,  hangings  of  red  and  yellow  say,  &c.,  71s.  lOd. 

"  Gloucester  Chamber. — Bedste  id,  &c.,  an  old  sparver,  and  cur- 


364  ARCH^OLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUEBIES. 

tains  of  red  and  yellow  say  somewhat  broken,  a  tableboard,  4  small 
forms,  etc.,  38s.  5d. 

"  The  next  Chamber  to  Gloucester  Chamber. — An  old  bedstead 
and  bedding,  mostly  broken,  Ss.  8d. 

'^The  Parker's  Chamber. — Bedstead  and  bedding,  lis. 

'*  The  Steward's  Chamber. — Bedstead  and  little  round  table  for 
oysters,  &c.,  14s.  8d. 

"  The  next  Chamber. — A  trussing  bed,  Ac.,  7s. 

"  The  Porter's  Chamber,  Ss.  lid. 

"  The  Cook's  Chamber,  8s.  4d. 

"  The  Paunter's  Chamber,  6s.  8d. 

"The  Barbour's  Chamber,  lis. 

**  The  Brewer's  Chamber,  2s.  2d. 

"  The  Under-Cook's  Chamber,  3s.  lOd. 

"The  Chapel  Chamber. — An  old  bedstead  and  2  andirons,  4s.  8d. 

"  The  second  Chamber  within  the  Chapel  Chamber. — Bedstead, 
&c.,  8s. 

*'  The  Chapel. — 4  pair  of  vestments  with  their  apparel  of  satin  of 
Bruges,  white,  red,  blue,  and  green,  40s. ;  6  plain  slops  of  coarse 
cloth,  overworn,  for  singing  men,  10s.;  3  altar  sheets  much  worn, 
2s. ;  a  little  mass  book,  20d. ;  a  coffer,  16d. ;  2  pieces  of  old  sayes, 
green  and  red,  for  hanging  before  the  altar,  12d. ;  a  leaden  holy 
water  pot,  4d.=56s.  4d. 

"  The  Hall. — 3  pieces  of  old  sayes,  red  and  green,  and  3  mats 
under  them,  30s. 

"The  Parlour. — An  old  table  board  with  an  old  carpet  of  Dor- 
nyckes,  3s.  4d. ;  4  little  pieces  of  hangings  of  Flanders  work,  with 
flowers,  fountains,  and  running  vines,  a  range  in  the  chimney  of  6 
small  iron  bars,  &c.^  38s.  2d. 

"  The  Wine  Cellar. — A  bason  and  ewer  parcel  gilt,  78  oz. ;  2 
flagons  parcel  gilt,  151  oz.  ;  2  pots  parcel  gilt,  86  oz. ;  3  goblets 
parcel  gilt,  33  oz. ;  a  chafing  dish  parcel  gilt,  21  oz. ;  a  dozen  spoons 
with  lions'  heads,  gilt,  17  oz. ;  2  gilt  spoons,  4  oz. ;  2  gilt  goblets, 
35  oz. ;  •'S  standing  cnps,  gilt,  with  covers,  104  oz. ;  3  gilt  salts  with 
covers,  41  oz. ;  a  little  nut  with  3  small  gilt  masers;  a  gilt  chalice 
and  paten,  20  oz. ;  2  candlesticks  and  a  tynnacle  for  holy  water,  with 
the  dasshell  gilted,  33  oz. ;  a  chalice  and  paten  parcel  gilr,  6  oz. ;  a 
little  gilt  salt  without  a  cover,  6^  oz.  ;  6  silver  spoons,  7^  oz. :  total 
gilt  plate,  243^  oz. ;  parcel  gilt,  375  oz. ;  18  spoons,  24^  oz. ; 
5  hhds.  of  claret  wine  and  one  of  white  wine>  80s. 

"  The  Buttery. — 6  hogsheads  for  ale,  4s. ;  4  little  barrels,  20d. ;  6 
leather  pots,  5s.=9s.  6d. 

''The  Pauntrye. — 8  latten  candlesticks,  3s.  4d. ;  3  little  tin  salts, 
12d. ;  2  little  coffers,  12d. ;  an  old  hogshead  with  a  cover,  to  keep 
manchets,  6d. ;  an  old  basin  and  ewer  of  tin,  16d. ;  tablecloths, 
napkins,  &c.,  42s.  6d. ;  also  in  the  pantry,  sheets,  pilluwburjs,  &c., 
49s.  2d. 

"The  Kitchen. — 2  garnish  of  vessel,  lacking  4  saucers,  and  12 
old  platters,  with  an  old  basin,  2141b.  at  3^d.;  brass  pots,  a  chafurne. 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES.  365 

and  a  possenet,  15  lb.  at  l^d.  a  lb.  ;  pans,  spits,  a  little  chimney  of 
iron  to  set  a  pot  upon,  12d. ;  a  wooden  mustard  pot,  Id. ;  3  'cowbes' 
for  capons,  10s.,  &c.=:£7  :  15 :  11^. 

"The Larder  Honse. — 2  powdering  tubs,  lOd.;  a  querne  to  grind 
mnstard,  lOd. ;  an  old  cupboard,  4d. ;  *4  stone  of  flattesse',  4s.i=»6s. 

"  The  Fish  Larder  House. — Salt,  hides,  tallow,  and  herring,  Qs.  Jd. 

"  The  Bakehouse.— A  great  trough  and  a  mouldiug  table,  which 
are  *  standards'. 

*'The  Brewhouse. — 2  washing  chieffes,  16d. ;  12  *  kielers*,  8s. ;  a 
eelynge  fate,  8d. ;  a  little  tub,  6d. ;  2  little  cowls,  4d. ;  2  pails,  3d. 

=ll8.  Id. 

The  MaUhouse. — 2  vessels  to  water  barley,  and  a  malt  mill,  8s. 
In  the  Ozhoase  and  the  Park. — 6  stalled  Welsh  bullocks  at  20s.; 
10  little  Welsh  bullocks  at  10s. ;  3  old,  overworn  horses  at  5s. ;  in 
a  *  warraunt'  of  conies,  6  sheep  and  a  lamb  at  12d.=ȣ12  :  0  :  12. 

"At  Lawheden,  a  manor  place  of  the  late  Bishop. — A  feather  bed, 
&C.J  13s.  4d. ;  120  sheep  and  a  cow  in  the  custody  of  Wra.  Butlar. 

"At  Pembroche. — Jas.  Baskerfeld,  steward,  has  in  his  custody 
bedding  worth  46s.  8d. 

"  In  the  Stable. — 4  old,  overworn  horses,  30s. 

"The  Storehouse  or  Workhouse. — 4,018  bundles  of  laths  at  5s. 
the  1,000;  7  doz.  crests  at  8d.  the  doz.=29s.  2d. 

"The  Garner. — 10  bushels  wheat  at  28.  8d.,  112  bushels  barley 
malt  at  2s.,  lUO  bushels  oats  at  8d.=<£14  16s. 

"At  Wooram,  Jameston,  and  Castremarton. — Com  and  pease 
worth  £14  Is.  6d. 

"  In  the  Close  by  the  Brewhouse. — 3  couple  of  swans,  8,  3,  and  1 
year  old,  15s.;  5,000  tile  stones  at  20d.  ;  a  cart,  8s. ;  a  peacock  and 
peahen,  16d.  =  32s.  8d.  6  qrs.  wheat  and  12  qrs.  barley  were  be- 
queeathed  by  the  Bishop  to  the  collegiate  church  of  Abergwilie 
because  they  lacked  corn. 

"  TI.  Books  in  the  Study :  Divinity.— The  New  and  Old  Testa- 
ments, with  the  Exposition  of  Nic.  Lyre,  and  the  ordinary  Gloss, 
6  books  ;  A  Concordance  to  the  Bible  ;  Beda  upon  the  Evangelists ; 
St.  Jerome  expositively  upon  the  12  Major  Prophets ;  St  Augus- 
tine De  Civitate  Dei ;  five  other  books  of  his  works ;  his  Serraones 
de  Tempore  ;  St.  Jerome's  Epistles  ;  St.  Ambrose  expositively  upon 
the  Psalms,  and  three  other  books  of  his  works ;  works  of  Cyprian 
and  Lactantius  ;  Joannes  Faber  ad  versus  Luterum,  named  Defensor 
Pacis;  John  Chrysostom's  Homilies  ;  Damascene's  works  ;  Summa 
Angelica  ;  Sermones  Joannis  Nider ;  Manipulns  Florum  ;  Sermones 
Jacobi  de  Voragine ;  Summa  Baptist 83 ;  John  Duns  and  St.  Thomas 
upon  the  1st,  2nd,  3rd,  and  4th  of  the  Sentence  {singular)  ;  the 
First  Part  of  Book  I  and  the  Second  Part  of  Book  II  of  St.  Thomas ; 
Reportata  Scoti,  by  John  Duns ;  Treatises  upon  the  4  Books  of  the 
Sentence,  by  Wm.  de  Ockham,  Jacobus  Almanus  et  Joannes  Capre- 
olus ;  St.  Thomas  ad  vers  us  Grsecorum  Errores ;  Fras.  de  Maronis 
et  Thos.  de  Aquino  in  Primum  Sententiarum  Librum ;  Sermones 
Jacobi  de  Voragine  de  Sanctis ;  Homiliae  Gregorii  Episcopi ;  Reclinu- 


366  AKCH^OLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

torium  Animae,  incerfco  auctore  ;  Concordantiee  Fratris  Conradi  de 
Alemania ;  Repertorium  in  Postillam  Nicolai  Ljrani  in  Vetas 
Testamentum  et  Novum  ;  Augnstinua  in  Joannem  ;  Jacobns  de  Va- 
lentia  in  Psalteriam  ;  Flores  BedaB  Presbyteri ;  Hngo  Cardinalis  in 
Psalterium. 

"  Humanity. — The  Comedies  of  Terence  and  Plautus ;  the  Rhetoric 
and  Orations  of  Cicero,  Suetonius,  Strabo ;  two  Books  of  Naucle- 
rus ;  Seneca ;  Aulus  Gellius  de  Noctibus  Atticis ;  Herodotus ;  A 
Table  upon  8  Books  of  Ptolomee;  the  Grammar  of  Urbane  and 
Theodore  in  Greek ;  A  Grammar  of  Hebrew  ;  a  Dictionary  called 
Catholicon  ;  Bartholomens  de  Proprietatibus  Rernm. 

**  Philosophy. — The  Text  of  Natural  Philosophy,  Argyropilo  in- 
terprete ;  St.  Thomas  exposifcively  upon  Natural  Philosophy. 

"Physic. — The  4  Books  of  Jacobus  De  Partibus;  Avicenna; 
Rosa  Anglica ;  Practica  Joannis  Serapionis ;  Mesne ;  Chirurgia 
Petri  de  Lacerlata  Bononiensi ;  Liber  Pandectarnm  Medici usb,  au- 
thore  Mattheo  Silvatico ;  Petrus  de  Albano  Patavinas,  De  Differen- 
tiis  Philosophorum  et  Medicorum ;  Explanationes  Gentilis  de  Pul- 
gineo  super  Tertium  Canonis  AvicennaB;  Liber  Medendi,  incerto 
authore  et  absque  titnio ;  Prima  Pars  et  Secunda  Rasis,  in  toto  con- 
tinent'. 

"  Law. — The  whole  Courses  of  Civil  and  Canon  ;  Bartholomens 
Brixiensis  de  Casibus  Decretorum ;  Constitutiones  Clementis. 

" Total,  besides  the  plate  and  books,  £279  :6:6^. 

"  III.  t)ebts  due  to  the  late  Bishop,  Master  John  Lunteley  being 
Receiver  General.^From  Maurice  Meyrig  and  Maurice  ap  Howell, 
bidell  of  Lawhaden ;  Master  Lewis  Gruffithe  for  synodals  of  the 
deanery  of  Llandeilo  and  Llangadoc ;  David  Lloide,  Dean  of  Em- 
lyn ;  from  various  persons  for  the  synodals  of  the  deaneries  of  Pem- 
broche,  Rowse,  Kaermerdyn,  and  Go  were,  and  archdeaconry  of 
Breckenocke,  and  the  rents  of  the  lordship  of  Llandue,  &c.,  £46 : 8 : 6. 

"IV.  Debts  to  the  late  Bishop,  due  1  Aug.  1534. — Proxies  for 
Gruffithe  Morgan,  Dean  of  Ultra  Ayron  ;  Sir  Morgan  Aubre,  Dean 
of  Gowere,  and  others ;  Morgan  Melyne,  of  Pembroche,for  85  fell8,8s.; 
Peter  Flemmynge,  of  Kaermerdyn,  for  *  flattesse*,&c.,<£49:10  :  3  J. 

"  V.  Procurations  of  the  General  Visitation  held  1535,  Cons.  13. — 
Deaneries  of  Rowse  and  Dungledye,  Kemeys,  Emlyn,  Subayron, 
Melenythe,  Biellt,  Elvell,  Brecon,  Kidweli,  Llandeilo,  Llangadoc, 
Kaermerdyn,  Pembroche,  the  Cathedral  of  St.  David's,  and  the  col- 
legiate churches  of  Abergwili  and  Llandewi  Brevye,  £21  :  13  :  10. 

"  VI.  View  of  the  Account  of  Morgan  Lewis,  General  Receiver  of 
the  Bishop,  27  Hen.  VIII. — Due  from  the  bailiffs,  stewards,  bidells, 
and  farmers  of  Pebidianke,  Lantefey,  Lawhaden,  Llandeilo,  Llan- 
eignede,  Abergwilie,  Mydrym,  Diffryntivi,  Atpar,  Llandogy,  Llau- 
dewe,  and  Brody,  £65  Is. 

"VII.  Synodals  unpaid  from  various  Deaneries,  87s.  11  Jd. — Due 
from  Hen.  Catharne,  Matthew  Tyle,  and  Lewis  David  of  Haverford, 
i:21.     Total  debts,  £207  :  14  :  7. 

"  VIII.    Total,  with  the  debts,  besides  plate,  books,  and  the  farm 


ARCH^OLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES.  367 

of  five  clmrches,  £487  13^d. ;  of  which  sum  there  is  paid  for  the 
chaplain's  gowns,  liveries  and  wages  for  the  servants,  cloth  for 
gowns  for  poor  men,  and  expenses  of  the  funeral  and  the  day  of  tri- 
gintale,  £103  :  12  :  2. 

"  IX.  Debts  of  the  Bishop.  —To  the  King  for  the  10th,£45 :  14 :  2^; 
fee  of  the  earl  of  Worcester,  his  high  steward,  £13  : 6  :  8;  to  lord 
Ferrei*s,  constable  of  Llandwye  Brevie,  £6  :  13  :  4 ;  to  Jas.  Lieche 
for  costs  of  surveying,  and  for  irons  bought  for  the  prisoners  in 
Llandwie  Brevye  and  other  lordships,  £6:13:4;  expenses  of  John 
Lanteley  at  the  late  sessions  at  Llandwye  Brevie,  40s. ;  to  Walter 
Marwent,  parson  of  St.  Matthew's,  Friday  Street,  London,  60s.  8d., 
paid  by  him  to  the  officers  of  the  Parliament  House  and  Convoca- 
tion, and  to  advocates  and  proctors  in  the  Arches ;  to  Matthew 
Tile,  of  Lantefey,  for  a  fat^cow,  I63. ;  and  for  other  things,  26s.  8d. 
^£7Q  :  10  :  10 1." — Letters  and  Papers,  Foreign  and  Domestic, 
Henry  VIII,  vol.  x,  p.  173.  Ed.  0. 


The  Honoubablb  Society  op  Cymmrodorion. — The  following 
papera  have  been  read  during  the  lecture  session  of  1888  :  Jan.  30, 
J.  C.  Parkinson,  Esq.,  J. P.,  D.L.,  "The  Eisteddfod  and  its  Critics"; 
Feb.  16,  Isambard  Owen,  Esq.,  M.D.,  M.A.,  "The  Work  of  the  Cymm- 
rodorion"; March  7,  Professor  Tout,  M.A.,  St.  David's  College, 
Lampeter,  "The  Welsh  Counties";  March  21,  Isaac  Foulkes,  Esq. 
(Llyfrhryf),  Liverpool,  "Talhaiarn";  April  11,  B.  Sidney  Hart- 
land,  Esq.,  Swansea,  "  Welsh  Folk-Medicine  in  the  Middle  Ages" ; 
April  26,  Joseph  Bennett,  Esq.,  "The  Possibilities  of  Welsh  Music"; 
May  9,  Professor  John  Rhys,  M.A.,  "Taliesin";  May  23,  T. 
Marchant  Williams,  Esq.,  B.A.,  "A  Critical  Estimate  of  Welsh 
Poetry" ;  June  6,  Stephen  W.  Williams,  Esq.,  F.R.I.B.A.,  Bhayader, 
"Excavations  and  Discoveries  at  Strata  Florida  Abbey". 


Weeping- Crosses. — There  is  a  letter  about  weeping-crosses  in 
the  Number  of  the  Arch.  Camhrensis  for  January  1888,  which  is 
wrong  throughout.  We  have  in  North  Wales  no  such  crosses.  Croes 
Wylan  has  nothing  to  do  with  such  matters.  Wylan  was  a  person, 
and  Whitford  Cross,  as  you  will  see  in  my  Old  Stone  Crosses^  has 
notbing  whatever  to  do  with  penance. 

Elias  Owen,  Efenechtyd,  Local  Sec,  Denbighshire. 


Parish  Registers  during  the  Commonwealth  Epoch. — ^There  is 
one  point  in  connection  with  parish  registers,  information  as  to 
which  would  be  very  desirable.  It  would  be  interesting  to  know, 
for  example,  how  in  those  registers  (hat  date  from  before  the  Com- 
monwealth the  years  are  treated  that  are  comprised  within  that 
epoch.  Most  of  the  registers  which  I  have  examined  begin  at  a 
date  subsequent  to  the  time  of  the  Commonwealth.     In  the  case  of 


368  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

three  Registers  known  to  me,  those  of  Wrexham,  Llangollen,  and 
Rnabon,  which  begin  before  that  time,  the  treatment  of  the  yearn 
1645-1661  is  in  each  case  qnite  distinct,  and  so  far  representative 
as  to  be,  I  think,  worth  describing. 

As  to  the  Wrexham  Register,  except  for  a  few  scattered  entries 
inserted  afterwards,  there  is  an  absolute  gap  afber  March  27,  1645. 
It  wonld  be  important  to  know  at  what  date  the  regular  entries 
cease  in  other  registers  that  show  an  absolate  gap  daring  the  Com- 
mon weal  (h  period. 

In  the  case  of  the  Llangollen  Eegister,  the  regular  entries  cease 
in  December  1634,  Mr.  Hnmfrey  Jones,  M.A.,  being  then  vicar; 
and  no  more  entries  occur,  except  a  few  relating  to  members  of  the 
vicar's  own  family,  until  165-J-.  As  in  the  year  1634  the  Great 
Rebellion  had  not  yet  begun,  we  must  set  down  the  discontinuance 
of  the  Register  at  that  time  to  the  account  of  the  vicar,  and  not  to 
the  account  of  the  civil  troubles.  As  the  result  of  these  troubles, 
Mr.  Humfrey  Jones  was  deprived  of  his  vicarship,  and  a  Puritan 
minister,  Mr.  Edward  Roberts,  put  in  his  place ;  and  from  January 
165|-  onwards,  in  the  case  of  baptisms,  and  from  April  1657  onwards, 
in  the  case  of  burials,  the  Register  was  kept  by  this  Mr.  Roberts. 
Whether  entries  of  marriages  were  also  made  by  him  we  cannot 
say,  as  the  last  sheet's  of  the  Register  in  which  they  would  be 
entered  have  disappeared.  Mr.  Roberts'  entries  go  on  until  March  4, 
166f,  in  the  case  of  baptisms,  and  until  April  1664  in  the  case  of 
burials.  They  are  very  interesting,  full  of  detail,  and  in  excellent 
and  unabbreviated  Latin,  while  at  the  foot  of  each  page  are  duly 
written  the  names  of  the  minister  and  of  the  three  churchwardens, 
whom  Mr.  Roberts  calls  sometimes  "  sediles'*  (a  capital  name),  and 
sometimes  ^'  ceoonomi**.  At  Llangollen,  then,  entries  were  made  in 
the  Parish  RegistiOr  during  the  latter  part  of  the  Parliamentary 
epoch  by  the  Puritan  minister  who  had  been  imposed  upon  the 
parish,  and  these  entries  are  of  an  unusually  full  and  satisfactory 
character. 

The  Ruahon  Parish  Register  presents,  from  our  present  point  of 
view,  a  still  more  interesting  object  for  study.  The  regular  entrieu 
cease  in  April  1644.  Then  comes,  under  the  heading  of  baptisms, 
the  following  important  memorandum  describing  the  appointment, 
by  popular  election,  of  a  lay  registrar,  and  notifying  the  confirma- 
tion of  that  appointment  by  a  justice  of  the  peace  : — 

"  Whereas  many  of  the  gentlemen,  freeholders,  and  others  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  parish  of  Ruabon,  haue  mett  together  in  obedi- 
ence to  a  late  Act  of  Parliament  bering  date  the  xxiiij  of  August, 
one  thousand  six  hundred  (fifty  and  three,  for  the  chusing  of  A 
Register  for  ther  Parish,  I  who  am  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Peace 
of  this  County  and  Inhabitants  of  that  Parish,  whose  name  is  here 
underwritten,  haue  approued  of  ther  Election,  hauinge  nothing  to 
object  Agst  the  saide  Register,  by  name  John  Powell.  Therefore  I 
doe  confirme  ther  Act  In  that  behalfe  Till  there  be  Just  occasion  to 
alter  or  Remove.     Witness  my  hand  y*  6  of  October  1653. 

"J.  Kynaston." 


ARCH^OLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES.  369 

The  John  Powell  named  in  the  memorandum  just  given  was,  I 
do  not  doubt,  John  Powell,  gentleman,  of  Rhnddallt,  in  the  parish 
of  Ruabon ;  while  the  Justice  who  wrote  and  signed  it  was  John 
KynastoQ,  Esq.,  of  Plas  Kjnaston  in  the  same  parish.  The  entries 
of  births  or  baptisms,  in  the  handwriting  of  John  Powell,  are  given 
under  the  following  heading :  "  Borne  &  Baptised  in  the  Parish  of 
Ruabon  since  the  nine  and  twentieth  of  September"  (1653).  They 
go  on  until  the  following  January,  and  then  suddenly  stop.  Under 
the  head  of  burials,  John  Powell's  entries  begin  at  the  same  date, 
and  go  on  nntil  May  9, 1654,  and  then  comes  the  following  note  : — 
"Memorandum  that  John  Powel,  parish  Register  in  the  fanaticke 
times,  entered  no  more  names  in  this  booke  than  are  above  written 
from  Septem'  1653  unto  June  1,  1660"  [or  January  1662,— date  in- 
distinct in  my  copy, — A.  N.  P.], "  and  then  the  register  booke  came 
againe  into  the  custody  of  Edward  Prichard,  cui-ate  of  Ruabon." 
Under  the  head  of  marriages  there  is  no  entry  in  John  Powell's 
handwriting  at  all,  but  some  one  has  subsequently  made  there  this 
note  :  "  Clandestine  justices*  marriages  not  entered." 

The  question  now  arises,  Why  did  John  Powell's  entruss  come  so 
soon  to  an  end  ?  And  the  answer  is,  I  suppose,  to  be  found  in 
the  fact  that  at  the  Quarter  Sessions  for  county  Denbigh,  held  at 
Ruthin  on  the  4th  of  October  1653,  at  which  Sessions  Mr.  Kynas- 
ton  was  not  present,  the  Justices  had  themselves  taken  action  under 
the  Act  of  August  24,  1653,  grouping  together,  for  the  purposes  of 
registration,  the  parishes  of  Wrexham,  Ruabon,  and  Erbistock,  and 
appointing  a  registrar  of  their  own.  The  parish  church  of  Wrex- 
ham was  fixed  upon  as  the  place  of  publication,  and  Captain  William 
Wenlocke  (afterwards  of  Colemere,  in  the  parish  of  Ellesmere)  was 
appointed  Registrar.  If  John  Powell  continued  Registrar  of  Ruabon 
parish  it  was,  therefore,  only  as  deputy  of  Captain  Wenlocke  ;  nor 
was  he  under  any  obligation  to  continue  the  entries  in  the  old  regis- 
ter book  of  Ruabon  which  he  had  begun,  being  only  under  obliga- 
tion to  furnish  to  his  chief  notes  of  the  births  and  burials  which 
had  taken  place  in  his  own  parish.  Captain  Wenlocke  then  keeping 
a  common  register  book  for  the  three  parishes. 

The  Act  of  August  24,  1653,  as  Dr.  Thomas  Armitage  of  New 
York  has  pointed  out  to  me,  provides  only  for  the  registration  of 
births ;  but  it  is  not  evident  whether  the  dates  given  under  John 
Powell's  heading  of  **  Borne  A  Baptised"  are  dates  of  birth  or  of 
baptism. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  say  that  at  the  same  Sessions  at  which 
Captain  Wenlocke  was  appointed,  Hugh  Jones,  gentleman,  of  St. 
George,  was  also  appointed  Registrar  for  the  commote  of  Isdulas, 
and  the  parish  church  of  St.  George  fixed  for  the  plnce  of  publica- 
tion. Registrars  were  at  the  same  time  appointed  for  Isaled  and 
Uwchdulas,  and  the  parish  churches  of  Llannefydd  and  Llanrwst 
fixed  on  respectively  as  the  places  of  publication  for  the  two  com- 
motes. 

I  think  it  will  be  acknowledged  that  the  point  raised  in  this  paper 


370  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

is  worthy  of  attention,  and  if  our  excellent  fellow-member,  Mr.  EHas 
Owen,  and  others  who  have  ready  access  to  parish  registers,  would 
communicate  particulars  as  to  the  way  in  which  the  Commonwealth 
period  is  treated  in  other  registers  than  those  above  named,  they 
would  lay  students  under  a  great  obligation. 

Wrexham.  Alfred  Neobard  Palmer. 


Vallb  Crucis  Abbey.— In  my  letter  on  "  The  Eecords  of  the  Baili- 
wick of  Wrexham,  A.D.  1339  and  1340",  printed  in  the  last  (July) 
Number  of  Archceologia  Gambrensis^  I  omitted  to  say  that  the  name 
of  the  Abbot  at  that  time  presiding  over  the  community  of  Llan- 
egwestl,  or  Valle  Crucis,  is  several  times  given,  a  gap  m  the  list  of 
the  Abbots  of  that  Monastery  being  thus  partially  supplied.  The 
name  of  this  Abbot  was  Addaf  or  Adam.  He  is  mentioned  both  in 
1339  and  1340.  Unless  my  memory  deceives  me,  the  Monastery  is 
always  called  "  Llanegwestl"  in  the  records,  never  Valle  Crucis. 

Wrexham.  Alfred  Neobard  Palmer. 


Editorial  Note. — In  order  to  ensure  the  punctual  issue  of  the 
October  Number  of  the  ArcJicbologia  Cambreneis,  it  has  been  found 
necessary  to  hold  over  the  Report  of  the  Oowbridge  Meeting  until 
the  January  Number  of  1889,  together  with  other  important  matter, 
including  Mr.  Stephen  W.  Williams'  Report  on  Strata  Florida,  and 
notices  of  discoveries  at  Caerworgan,  Valle  Crucis  Abbey,  and  Pen- 
men. 

It  was  decided  at  Cowbridge  that  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the 
Cambrian  Archasological  Association  should  take  place  next  year  in 
Brittany.  Further  particulars  will  be  announced  in  the  January 
Number.  In  the  meantime  communications  on  the  subject  will  be 
gladly  received  by  the  Editors. 


Discovery  op  Roman  Coins  at  Llandudno. — In  April  last  Mr. 
Thomas  Kendrick,  who  keeps  the  Camera  Obscura  in  the  Tygwyn 
Road,  at  Llandudno,  while  engaged  on  an  alteration  of  the  road- 
way, came  upon  what  he  believes  to  have  been  an  ancient  fireplace, 
near  which,  embedded  in  the  clay,  were  seventeen  Roman  coins 
with  one  piece  of  pottery.  The  coins  were  forwarded  by  Dr. 
H.  Thomas,  of  Llandudno,  to  the  British  Museum  to  be  catalogued 
by  Mr.  Barclay  V.  Head,  Assistant  Keeper  of  Coins,  who  has  pub- 
lished a  list  of  them  in  the  Numismatic  Chronicle,  vol.  viii,  Ser.  3, 
p.  163.     It  appears  from  this  list  that  the  coins  are  of  the  following  \ 

Roman  emperors  : — one  of  Galienus,  a.d.  258-268  ;  two  of  Victori- 
nus,  A.D.  265-267  ;  one  of  Tetricus,  a.d.  267-273  ;  thirteen  of  Carau- 
sins,  A.D.  287-293.  In  Mr.  T.  Kendrick's  grounds,  near  the  Camera 
Obscura,  is  a  bone-cave,  in  which  a  necklace  of  bears'  teeth  and 
human  remains  have  been  discovered. 

Morris  C.  Jones,  F.S.A. 

Gungrog  Hall,  Welshpool. 


/i 


Cambrian  9lrc^aeolo0ical  SfKfioctation. 


THE  FOETY-THIED   ANNUAL   MEETING 


WAS  UXLD  AT 


COWBRIDGE 


ON 


MONDAY,    AUGUST    13th,    1888, 

AND   FOUR  FOLLOWING  DATS. 


PBB8IDSVT. 

THE  LORD  BISHOP  OP  LLANDAFF. 


VICS-PBESIDEVTS. 


The  Marquees  of  Bute,  E.T. 
The  Earl  of  Danraven,  K.P. 
Lord  Windsor 
The  Dean  of  Llandaff 
Archdeacon  Edmondes 
A.  J.  Williams,  Esq.,  M.P. 
J.  T.  D.  Llewelyn,  Esq. 


Lord  Aberdare,  G.O.B. 

Archdeacon  Bruce 

Archdeacon  Thomas 

J.  W.  Stradling-Came,  Esq.,  D.C.L. 

Colonel  Picton-Tarbervill   ■ 

C.  B.  M.  Talbot,  Esq.,  M.P. 

G.  M.  Traheme,  Esq. 


LOCAL   OOMXITTBE. 


T.  Bees,  Esq.,  Mayor  of  Cowbridge 

Be7.  D.  Bowen,  Cowbridge 

James  A.  Corbett,  Esq.,  Cardiff 

Bev.  Canon  Edmondes,  Cowbridge 

BeT.  Daniel  Evans,  Llanmaes 

T.  Mansel  Franklen,  Esq.,  St.  Hilaiy 

Bev.  A.  T.  Hughes,  Llancarfan 

Bey.  John  Jones,  Ewenny 

O.  H.  Jones,  Esq.,  Fonmon  Castle 

Bey.  E.  Jenkins,  Llanmihangel 

Bey.  W.  Llewellyn,  Cowbridge 

F.  Mathews,  Esq.,  Cowbridge 

Daniel  Owen,  Esq.,  Ash  HaJl 

C.  Collins  Prichaid,  Esq.,  Pwllywraoh 

J.  Pyke  Thompson,  Esq.,  Cardiff 

Colonel  Tyler,  Llantrythid 

Bey.  E.  W.  Yaughan,  Llantwit  M%jor 

Bey.  Canon  Allen,  Porthkerry 


J.  Coates  Carter,  Esq.,  Cardiff 
Key.  W.  Dayid,  St.  Pagans 
Bey.  F.  W.  Edmondes,  Bridgend 
W.  H.  Eyans,  Esq.,  Llanmaes 
W.  T.  Gwyn,  Esq.,  Cowbridge 
Bey.  H.  J.  Humphreys,  Llangan 
Bey.  Joseph  Jones,  St.  Lythans 
Bey.  P.  Wilson  Jones,  Marcross 
Bey.  C.  LL  Llewellin,  Coychurch 
Bey.  Lewis  Morgan,  St.  Hilary 
G.  W.  Nicholl,  Esq.,  The  Ham 
J.  W.  PhiUips,  Esq.,  Cowbridge 
G.  £].  Bobinson,  Esq.,  Cardiff 
Mr.  T.  Thomas,  Bear  Hotel,  Cowbridge 
C.  T.  Vachell,  Esq.,  M.D.,  Cai-diff 
Bey.  M.  Price  Williams,  Cowbridge 

School 
Bey.  Bees  Williams,  St.  Donate 


Local  Secretary. 

Iltyd  B.  NichoU,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  The  Ham,  Cowbridge. 
5th  ser.,  vol.  v. 


26 


372 


REPORT   OF   MEETING. 


EVENING  MEETING,   MONDAY,  AUGUST   13th. 

The  inangaral  meeting,  which  was  preceded,  as  usual,  by  a  com- 
mittee meeting  for  the  transaction  of  private  business,  was  held  in 
the  Town  Hall,  at  8.30  p.m.  The  members  of  the  Association 
mustered  in  force,  and  there  was  a  large  attendance  of  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Cowbridge,  who  evinced  a  lively  interest  in  the  addresses 
and  papers  dealing  with  the  history  of  their  native  town. 

The  retiring  President,  Charles  Salisbury  Main  waring,  Esq., 
being  unavoidably  prevented  from  attending  personally  to  resign 
his  office,  the  chair  was  taken  by  his  successor,  the  Lord  Bishop  of 
St.  David's.  His  Worship  the  Mayor  of  Cowbridge,  Thomas  Bees, 
Esq.,  then  welcomed  the  members  of  the  Association  and  their 
friends  on  behalf  of  the  Corporation.  The  Lord  Bishop  of  St. 
David's,  afler  suitably  acknowledging  the  Mayor's  courtesy  in  a 
few  well-chosen  words,  proceeded  to  deliver  the  Presidential  Ad- 
dress:— 

The  Right  Rev.  the  President  first  offered,  in  the  name  of  the 
diocese  of  Llandaff,  the  Association  a  very  hearty  welcome,  and 
expressed  the  earnest  hope  that  the  visit  to  a  neighbourhood  so 
full  of  objects  of  interest  to  the  lover  of  archaBology  might  amply 
repay  the  ABSociation  for  having  selected  it  as  the  field  for  their 
investigations  during  the  present  summer.  With  the  varied  archte- 
ological  riches  with  which  it  was  stored  many  of  the  members 
were  probably  far  better  acquainted  than  he.  Not  only  were 
those  stores  of  interest  from  an  archaeological  point  of  view,  they 
were  also  precious  as  historical  landmarks  and  guides,  without 
which  the  social,  political,  and  ecclesiastical  history  of  that  part 
of  the  Principality  in  which  they  were  would  be  nothing  more 
than  a  fragmentary  record  stripped  of  well-nigh  all  which  now 
rendered  it  interesting  and  trustworthy.  Amongst  the  various 
remains  of  antiquity  which  were  to  be  found  within  easy  distance 
of  their  present  place  of  meeting  were  some  consisting  of  nothing 
more  than  a  circle  of  rude  colossal  stones,  untouched  by  the 
hammer  or  chisel  of  the  workman.     At  other  spots  would  be  found 


COWBRIDGE   MEETING. — REPORT.  373 

remains,  more  or  less  perfect,  of  the  grand  old  abbey  or  the  modest 
parish  church,  in  which  wo  aid  be  seen  the  varying  styles  of  Chris- 
tian architecture,  which  followed  each  other  in  quick  succession, 
each  with  its  own  peculiar  gracefulness  and  beauty.  Referring  to 
the  most  ancient  or  British  period,  perhaps,  the  right  rev.  gentle- 
man remarked,  the  most  interesting  monument  within  the  range  of 
their  researches  was  the  vast  cromlech  at  St.  Nicholas.  It  was,  he 
believed,  one  of  the  largest,  if  not  the  largest,  of  these  remains  to 
be  found,  not  only  in  that  particular  neighbourhood,  but  in  the 
whole  kingdom.  Other  remains  of  the  same  period  and  of  struc- 
tures devoted  to  the  same  purpose,  but  of  smaller  dimensions, 
existed  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood,  especially  one  at  Maes- 
yfaen,  on  the  opposite  side  of  Duffryn  House,  and  equidistant  from 
it,  which  would  well  repay  a  visit.  But  the  remains  of  the  British 
period  were  not  confined  to  those  of  structures  devoted  to  sepul- 
chral and  religious  purposes.  Encampments  of  greater  or  less 
extent,  scattered  at  intervals  over  large  portions  of  the  Land  of 
Morgan,  served  to  remind  them  that  their  forefathers  were  not  so 
wholly  engrossed  in  peaceful  pursuits  as  to  neglect  to  guard  them- 
selves against  the  attacks  of  their  enemies.  Amongst  the  most 
extensive  as  well  as  the  most  ancient  of  these  was  that  in  the 
parish  of  Llangynwd,  about  five  miles  from  Bridgend.  From  the 
British  period  they  passed  into  that  of  the  Roman  occupation, 
which  commenced  about  the  middle  of  the  first  century  of  the 
Christian  era,  by  the  viotoiy,  after  a  long  and  brave  resistance,  of 
the  Roman  general  over  Uaractacus,  son  of  Bran  the  Blessed. 
Doubtless,  at  the  moment  the  conquest  of  the  Silures  and  the  cap- 
tivity of  their  brave  leader  were  regarded  as  a  terrible  national 
disaster ;  but  if  tradition  spoke  truly,  that  Bran  the  Blessed  and 
his  brave  son  returned  after  their  captivity  converted  to  the  Chris- 
tian faith,  that  event,  by  God's  good  providence,  had  been  produc- 
tive of  the  richest  blessing.  Apart,  however,  from  the  interest 
which  attached  to  the  introduction  of  Christianity,  regarded  in  its 
religious  aspect,  in  some  at  least  of  its  results  it  had  peculiar 
interest  for  the  archsBologist,  since  there  were  few  objects  he  in- 
vestigated with  greater  pleasure  than  the  remains  of  those  ancient 
Christian  temples  raised  by  pious  forefathers  to  the  honour  and  for 
the  worship  of  God.  Of  such  of  these  ancient  structures  as 
existed  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  he  would  add  a  word  or 
two  presently,  and  would  turn  to  notice  briefly  some  of  the  remains 
which  were  more  immediately  connected  with  the  advent  of  the 
Komans,  and  which  were  rendered  necessary  by  the  circumstances 
in  which  they  were  at  that  time  placed.  Of  the  caerau  or  encamp- 
ments, remains  of  these  were  to  be  found  in  great  abundance,  and 
of  those  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  that  at  Caerau,  on  a 
rising  ground  about  two  miles  from  Cardifi*,  was  the  most  import- 
ant and  of  the  largest  dimensions,  occupying  a  space  of  about 
twelve  acres.  Amongst  other  relics  of  Roman  occupation  still  to 
be  seen  in  that  neighbourhood  were  portions  of  the  roads  used  by 


374  CAMBRIAN  ARCHiEOLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

the  conquerors  for  the  purpose  of  facilitatiDg  communication  between 
their  different  camps.  To  these  must  be  added  a  number  of 
interesting  tumuli,  of  which  those  near  the  village  of  Bonvilstone 
were  specially  worthy  of  note,  and  numerous  Roman  villas,  scat- 
tered all  over  South  Wales,  without  military  outworks,  supplying 
no  unsatisfactory  evidence  of  the  submission  of  the  natives  to  the 
mild  and  gentle  rule  of  their  new  masters.  The  period  which  fol- 
lowed the  departure  of  the  Romans  had  left  few  objects  of  interest 
to  the  archadologist,  since  the  work  of  the  northern  invaders  was  that 
of  rapine  and  destruction,  of  a  widely  different  character  from  that 
which  followed,  and  which  commenced  with  the  invasion  of  Gla- 
morgan by  the  Normans,  under  Fitzhamon,  towards  the  close  of 
the  eleventh  and  down  to  the  latter  half  of  the  fourteenth  century. 
The  rule  of  these  new  invaders,  unlike  that  of  the  Romans,  was 
severe,  and  provoked,  on  the  part  of  the  natives,  a  most  obstinate 
and  prolonged  resistance.  The  results  of  this  were  still  to  be  seen 
in  the  remains  of  the  Norman  and  English  castles  with  which 
South  Wales  abounded.  The  erection  of  these  castles  was  not  con- 
fined to  the  great  Norman  lords,  for  every  country  squire,  if  such  a 
term  were  appropriate  to  those  days,  found  it  necessary  to  make 
his  house  a  fortress.  Concerning  the  two  classes  of  castles,  he  (the 
speaker)  would  quote  the  words  of  a  learned  and  accomplished 
author  (Mr.  Clark),  whom  he  would  have  liked  to  have  seen  fill- 
ing the  presidential  chair,  who  wrote  "that  the  position  of  the 
English  in  Wales  during  the  two  centuries  following  the  Conquest, 
in  fact,  until  the  reduction  of  the  Principality  by  Edward  I,  was 

such  as  to  make  a  castle  a  necessity Evei^  landowner's  bouse 

was  literally  his  castle.  In  parts  of  Glamorganshire  they  stood  so 
close  that  it  is  difficult  to  understand  whence  their  owners  derived 
their  revenues.  For  example,  within  a  radius  of  six  miles  from 
Barry,  half  the  circle  being  occupied  by  the  sea,  were  twelve  castles, 
and  in  the  county,  and  mainly  in  its  southern  part,  were  from 
thirty  to  forty,  of  which  but  one,  Aberavon,  belonged  to  a  Welsh 
lord.  Most  of  the  castles  were  the  residences  of  private  persons, 
and  were  built  for  the  defence  of  the  estate  and  its  tenants ;  others, 
the  property  of  the  chief  lord,  were  constructed  for  the  defence  of 
the  county,  and  were  so  placed  as  to  command  the  passes  by  whicb 
the  Welsh  were  accustomed  to  descend  upon  the  plain.  The  sites 
of  most  of  the  Glamorgan  castles  are  known,  and  of  many  of  them 
the  ruins  remain."  Last,  but  not  least  worthy  of  notice,  were  the 
parish  churches,  many  of  which  were  interesting,  not  only  on  account 
of  their  peculiar  construction,  the  various  styles  of  architecture  ex- 
hibited, and  the  tombs,  crosses,  and  other  remains  they  contained  or 
by  which  they  were  surrounded,  but  also  from  the  fact  that  they 
had  been  erected  in  spots  sacred  from  their  association  with  most 
important  events  of  a  far  earlier  date  than  the  existing  structures, 
and  not  improbably  hallowed  as  the  spots  on  which  the  Gospel 
message  was  first  proclaimed  in  the  land  by  the  earliest  Christian 
missionaries.      Amongst  other  spots  for  which  that  honour  was 


COWBRIDGE   MEETING. — REPORT.  375 

claimed  were  the  churches  of  Llantwifc  Major,  Llancarvany  and 
Llani]id,  the  two  first  named  being  memorable  likewise  for  famoas 
schools  of  theology,  which  were  foanded  as  early  as  the  latter  half 
of  the  fifth  century.  The  church  of  St.  Illtyd,  or,  as  it  was 
commonly  called,  of  Llantwit  Major,  was  of  very  peculiar  construc- 
tion, and  various  opinions  had  been  expressed  as  to  the  purposes 
for  which  its  three  different  portions  were  originally  designed.  He 
believed  Professor  Freeman,  one  of  the  greatest  authorities  upon 
these  subjects,  had  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  westernmost 
portion  of  the  sacred  fabric  was  the  lady-chapel,  and  the  eastern- 
most a  monastic  church,  fiat  in  a  letter  which  appeared  in  the 
Western  Mail  a  short  time  ago,  the  writer  indignantly  protested 
against  this  theory,  and  he  (the  speaker)  would  not  have  been  ill 
pleased  if  the  two  antagonists  had  met  before  the  Association  and 
fought  out  their  opinions.  In  conclusion,  allusion  was  made  to  the 
discoveries  at  Cardi£P  Gastle— one  of  monastic  buildings,  and  a  part 
of  the  outer  wall  which  had  surrounded  the  castle — which  would 
both  be  found  to  be  of  great  interest.  The  right  rev.  President 
then  resumed  his  seat,  amidst  loud  applause. 

Archdeacon  Thomas,  in  proposing  a  cordial  vote  of  thanks  to  the 
President  for  his  address,  adverted  to  the  reasons  that  had  induced 
the  Association  to  visit  Cowbridge.  Having  already  held  meet- 
ings at  most  of  the  chief  places  in  North  and  South  Wales,  it  was 
deemed  advisable  in  future  to  choose  some  of  the  smaller  towns  as 
the  centres  of  operations,  few  of  which  offered  so  many  attractions 
as  Cowbridge,  the  surrounding  district  being  more  than  usually 
interesting,  on  account  of  its  connection  with  the  first  introduction 
of  Christianity  into  Wales.  The  association  of  this  part  of  Gla- 
morganshire with  early  British  Christianity  was  forcibly  brought, 
home  to  the  minds  of  those  present  when  they  remembered  that 
their  President  was  the  successor,  and  no  unworthy  one  either,  of 
Dubricius,  the  founder  of  the  see  of  Llandaff. 

Mr.  R.  W.  Banks,  the  Treasurer  of  the  Association,  having 
seconded  the  vote  of  thanks,  the  President  briefly  replied,  and  then 
called  upon  Mr.  Edward  Laws,  Secretary  for  South  Wales,  to  read 
a  paper  by  the  Rev.  J.  P.  Conway,  the  Superior  of  the  Dominican 
Priory  at  Woodch ester,  upon  the  recent  excavations  made,  by  the 
orders  of  Lord  Bute,  on  the  site  of  the  Black  Friars  Monastery,  at 
Cardiff.     This  paper  will  be  printed  in  the  Journal. 

The  proceeding^  were  brought  to  a  close  by  the  announcement 
of  the  programme  of  the  next  day's  excursion, 


EXCURSION,    TUESDAY,   AUGUST    14fta. 

The  members  of  the  Association  made  the  Bear  Hotel  their 
headquarters,  where  excellent  accommodation  was  provided  by  our 
host,  Mr.  Thomas.  All  the  excursions  during  the  week  were  made 
by  road,  as  facilities  for  travelling  by  rail  are  entirely  wanting  in 


376  CAMBRIAN  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

this  district  at  present.  It  will  not  be  ont  of  place  here  to  men- 
tion that  the  s access  of  the  meeting  at  Cowbridge  was  very  largely- 
due  to  the  efficient  manner  in  which  Mr.  Iltjd  B.  NichoU  dis- 
charged the  somewhat  arduous  duties  falling  to  the  lot  of  the 
Local  Secretaries  on  these  occasions.  The  members  have,  there- 
fore, to  thank  him  for  the  punctuality  with  which  the  programme 
was  carried  out ;  and  the  horses  should  be  grateful  that  the  fore- 
thought displayed  in  adjusting  the  length  of  the  journeys  pre- 
vented their  being  overworked,  as  is  unfortunately  sometimes  the 
case  when  the  management  is  bad.  The  weather  throughout  the 
whole  week  was  exceptionally -fine,  so  that  umbrellas  were  only 
used,  as  the  derivation  of  the  word  indicates  that  they  should  be, 
as  a  protection  from  the  excessive  heat  of  the  sun's  rays. 

The  excursion  started  from  the  Bear  Hotel  at  9.30  a.m.,  mem- 
bers taking  their  seats  in  the  horse-bi*akes  with  commendable 
punctuality.  The  first  halting-place  was  the  small  village  of  St. 
Hilary,  situated  two  miles  south-west  of  Cowbridge,  on  high 
ground  commanding  an  extensive  view  of  the  surrounding  country. 
On  a  fine  day  the  Bristol  Channel,  with  the  opposite  coast  of 
Somersetshire  beyond,  are  plainly  visible  to  the  southward,  and  on 
the  north  the  horizon  is  bounded  by  the  bleak  highlands  of  Gla- 
morganshire. Cowbridge  lies  in  a  hollow  below.  Donovan,  in  his 
South  Wales,^  speaks  enthusiastically  of  the  prospect,  which  he 
says  is  "very  far  superior  to  any  we  had  before  surveyed  in  this  part 
of  the  country".  The  summit  of  Stalling^  Down  hill,  above  St. 
Hilary,  is  crowned  by  a  clump  of  trees  that  serves  as  a  landmark 
for  miles  round.  The  old  road  from  Cowbridge  up  to  the  top  of 
Stalling  Down  is  very  steep,  in  consequence  of  which  a  new  road 
has  been  formed,  making  a  detour  round  the  north  side  of  the  hill 
so  as  to  obtain  a  better  .gradient.  The  old  road  is  in  a  straight 
line  with  that  on  the  other  side  of  Cowbridge  going  to  Bridgend, 
which  is  possibly  Roman. 

St,  Hilary  Church. — On  arriving  at  the  church  the  party  were 
met  by  the  Rev.  Lewis  Morgan,  the  Vicar,  who  delivered  the  fol- 
lowing address : — 

"  The  remarks  which  I  propose  to  make  are  intended  to  facili- 
tate rather  than  impede  your  progress,  as  you  have  so  many  sub- 
jects of  interest  in  prospect  to-day.  This  church  was  dedicated  to 
Sanctus  Hilarius,  Bishop  of  Poitiers,  whose  name  was  also  once 
associated  in  North  Wales  with  Holyhead  (or  Caergybi),  the  fort 
of  Cybi,  who  was  sumamed  Corineus,  a  son  of  Solomon,  Duke  of 
Cornwall,  and  pupil  of  Hilarius,  about  the  year  380.  In  honour  of 
his  preceptor  he  called  one  of  the  headlands  of  this  insulated  spot 
St  Hilary,  now  St.  Elian's  Point.  There  is  also  a  church  dedi- 
cated, probably  through  this  same  family,  to  this  saint  in  Com- 
walL 

''The  ruthless  hand   of  time   had   been   arrested   at   different 

*  Vol.  i,  p.  307.  2  i^  corruption  of  stallion. 


COWBRIDGE  MEETING. — REPORT.  377 

periods,  doubtless  by  well-intentioned,  bat  most  destractive  repairs ; 
oonseqaentlj,  this  church  was  becoming  sadly  divested  of  its  tradi- 
tional associations,  every  vestige  of  which,  however  simple  or 
homely  it  may  be,  has  the  strongest  claims  upon  our  reverence  and 
care.  These  feelings,  on  being  indacted  to  the  living  in  the  year 
1855,  urged  me  to  appeal  for  f  ands  to  restore  what  was  remaining  to 
something  like  their  primitive  character.  I  soon  received  a  most  gene- 
rous response  from  the  Kev.  J.  M.  Traherne  of  Coedriglan,  whose 
interest  in  such  matters  was  well  known,  and  who  then  devoted  his 
latest  thoughts  to  the  restoration  of  this  venerable  church,  when 
his  lamented  death  deferred  the  undertaking  of  his  pious  wishes ; 
bat  subsequently  his  noble-hearted  widow,  to  whom  this  parish 
owes  a  deep  debt  of  gratitude,  carried  out  the  good  intention  of 
her  lamented  hasband,  and  defrayed  the  whole  cost.  The  restora- 
tion, which  was  completed  in  the  year  1862,  was  carried  out  from 
the  plans  and  under  the  superintendence  of  Sir  Gilbert  Scott,  who, 
in  this  instance,  as  in  all  the  restorations  in  which  he  was  engaged, 
evinced  a  reverential  regard  for  the  preservation  of  all  the  ancient 
features  of  the  building.  This  church,  like  most  of  the  ancient 
sacred  structures  in  our  old  country,  was  built  at  various  periods 
of  history,  many  proofs  of  which  may  now  be  seen.  The  chancel- 
arch  and  the  font  are  of  the  Norman  period,  and  for  that  reason 
have  been  carefully  preserved,  although  it  would  not  be  difficult  to 
replace  them  with  handsomer  ones  of  modern  design.  The  rest  of 
the  chancel  seems  to  be  of  the  Early  English  period.  The  tower, 
nave,  and  aisle  are  of  the  Perpendicular  style.  The  old  monu- 
mental effigy,  which  was  formerly  within  the  chancel  rails,  is  to  the 
memory  of  an  ancestor  of  the  Basset  family. 

**  All  the  old  walls  were  retained,  but  securely  underpinned  and 
drained.  The  arcade  between  the  aisle  and  the  nave,  which  was 
formerly  very  much  out  of  the  perpendicular,  was  forced  up  into  its 
place  by  means  of  the  thumb-screw,  and  thus  the  necessity  of  its  being 
taken  down  prevented.  The  east  window  of  the  aisle  was  removed, 
and  carefully  replaced.  A  new  window  has  been  placed  in  the 
west  end  of  the  aisle.  This  window  replaces  an  old  one  which  had 
been  blocked  up ;  when  the  plastering  was  removed,  evident  traces 
and  some  remains  of  the  window  were  found,  of  the  size  and  form 
of  the  window  which  now  occupies  the  place,  and  probably  of  a 
similar  design.  The  roof  is  of  a  very  handsome  substantial  design, 
supported  by  a  king-post  in  the  centre;  the  timber  employed  in 
this  and  in  all  the  woodwork  is  pitch  pine,  and  varnished  without 
any  paint  or  stain.  The  whole  of  the  walls  have  been  pointed  out- 
side, including  the  tower,  and  all  the  dressed  stonework  inside  has 
had  the  whitewash  removed  from  it  by  the  application  of  muriatic 
acid,  and  pointed.  The  internal  fittings  are  exceedingly  elaborate 
and  beautiful,  and  the  carving  was  done  by  workmen  who  came 
from  London  for  the  purpose,  and  who  had  been  employed  for 
years  in  Westminster  Abbey.  During  the  restoration  the  remains 
of  an  old  rood-loft  were  brought  into  sight,  consisting  of  a  doorway 


'378  CAMBRIAN  ARCHiEOLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

and  some  steps  of  the  stairs.  These  remains  were  reverentially 
preserved,  although  they  form  a  rather  unsightly  object  near  the 
pulpit. 

"  The  entrance  porch  is  entirely  new,  and  designed  by  Sir  Gilbert 
Scott ;  upon  the  whole,  I  feel  we  can  quote  a  part  of  Mr.  Pitt's 
appropriate  lines  on  restorations : — 

« '  But,  0 1  work  tenderly  : 
Beware  lest  one  worn  feature  ye  efface, 
Seek  not  to  add  one  touch  of  modem  grace  ; 
Handle  with  reverence  each  crumbling  stone, 
Respect  the  very  lichens  o*er  it  grown, 
And  bid  each  monument  to  stand 
Supported  e'en  as  with  a  filial  hand.'  " 

The  ground-plan  of  the  church  consists  of  a  nave,  with  south 
aisle  and  porch,  chancel  and  western  tower.  The  original  build- 
ing, of  the  Norman  period  probably,  had  a  nave  and  chancel  only ; 
the  tower  and  south  aisle  appear  to  have  been  added  when  the 
Decorated  style  was  prevalent ;  and  the  porch  was  erected  by  Sir 
Gilbert  Scott  in  1862.  The  chancel-arch  is  Transitional  Norman, 
pointed,  with  square-stepped  arch-mouldings  and  jambs,  and  simple 
abacus.  It  is  7  ft.  3  in.  wide.  The  arcading  between  the  nave 
and  the  south  aisle  has  four  arches.  There  is  a  filat-headed  priest's 
door  and  window  on  the  south  side  of  the  chancel.  In  the  south 
wall  of  the  aisle  a  flat-headed  three-light  window  filled  in  with 
Decorated  tracery  is  worthy  of  notice.  It  is  of  the  same  type  as  a 
window  in  the  Old  Western  Church  at  Llantwit  Major ;  but  the 
peculiar  feature  at  St.  Hilary  is  a  horizontal  band  of  quatrefoil 
ornaments  running  along  the  top.  Over  the  south  door  is  a  Deco- 
rated bracket  with  the  Basset  arms.  The  tower  is  of  two  stories, 
of  the  usual  local  character,  with  lights  in  the  upper  part  covered 
by  a  square  label.  The  font,  which  is  placed  opposite  the  south 
door,  near  the  north  wall  of  the  nave,  is  of  Sutton  stone,  of  plain 
round  shapci  having  bulging  sides,  with  a  bold  roll-moulding 
round  the  top.  It  is  2  ft.  3}  in.  outside  diameter,  and  3  ft.  3  in. 
high,  supported  on  a  square  step.  Most  of  the  fonts  in  this  dis- 
trict are  of  Norman  date,  and  made  of  a  hard  magnesian  limestone 
dug  from  a  quarry  at  Sutton,  close  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ogmore 
river,  on  the  coast  of  Glamorganshire,  below  Bridgend.  It  was 
thought  of  using  Sutton  stone  in  the  construction  of  the  Houses  of 
Parliament  at  Westminster,  but  the  supply  was  too  limited.  The 
stone  is  an  excellent  one,  but  hard,  and  sometimes  liable  to  split. 
It  was  largely  employed  by  the  medisBval  builders  in  Glamorgan- 
shire, at  Caerphilly  Castle,  and  many  other  places.  There  is  a 
rude  square  stoup  in  the  south  wall  of  the  nave  near  the  south  door, 
and  a  bracket  in  the  north  wall  of  the  chancel.  The  steps  up  to 
the  rood-loft,  lighted  by  a  square-headed  window,  are  to  be  seen  in 
the  north  wall  of  the  nave  at  St.  Hilary.  The  method  of  roofing 
over  the  rood-loft  and  other  narrow  staircases,  other  examples  of 


COWBRIDGB  MEETING. — REPORT.  379 

which  occur  at  Llancarvan  Church  and  Fonmon  Castle,  is  rather 
curious.  The  roof  is  built  of  alternate  courses,  (1)  of  single  stones 
placed  like  a  lintel  horizontally  across  the  space  to  be  spanned, 
and  (2)  of  a  pair  of  stones  placed  horizontally,  but  making  an 
angle  of  45  degrees  with  the  sides  of  the  passage,  and  meeting 
each  other  at  a  right  angle. 

There  are  two  interesting  sepulchral  monuments  in  St.  Hilary 
Church.  The  first  is  an  altar-tomb,  upon  which  is  the  recumbent 
effigy  of  Thomas  Basset.  He  is  in  plate-armour,  with  the  Basset 
arms,  three  hunting-horns,  upon  the  body.  His  feet  rest  upon  a 
lion.  Bound  the  end  and  one  side  runs  an  incised  inscription  in 
black  letter :  +  Hie  jacet  Thomas  |  Basset  qui  obiit  xiiii""  die 
me'sis  dec'bris  a**  d*ni  m°  iiii'  xxiii**  cu'  a'ie  pro(pici)etur  dens 
amen.  This  monument  was  formerly  within  the  chancel-sails,  but 
is  now  placed  under  the  most  easterly  arch  of  the  arcading  of  the 
south  aisle. 

The  second  tomb  is  under  an  arched  recess  in  the  north  wall  of 
the  nave,  opposite  the  south  door,  and  close  to  the  font.  The 
recumbent  e^gj  is  that  of  a  layman,  holding  a  gloye  in  his  right 
hand,  and  with  his  left  resting  on  his  breast. 

The  old  socket-stone  of  the  churchyard  cross  at  St.  Hilary  is 
still  in  existence,  resting  on  four  steps,  and  a  new  cross  has  been 
erected  on  the  old  base.  The  socket-stone  is  octagonal  at  the  top 
and  square  at  the  bottom,  with  stop-chamfers  where  one  dies  into 
the  other. 

The  Rev.  Lewis  Morgan  has  kindly  furnished  the  following 
information  about  the  communion- plate  and  the  inscriptions  on  the 
bells. 

The  chalice  is  of  the  usual  Elizabethan  pattern,  with  the  date 
1577  on  the  cover.     The  paten  is  dated  1818. 

The  inscriptions  on  the  bells  are,  on  the  treble,  "  We  were  all 
cast  at  Gloster  by  A.  Rudhal,  1734";  on  the  tenor,  "Tho.  Bassett 
and  Lewis  Thomas,  churchwardens,  1734";  on  the  alto,  "Prosperity 
to  this  parish  A.  (the  representation  of  a  bell)  R.,  1 734";  on  the 
bass,  "  Peace  and  good  neighbourhood  A.  (a  bell)  R.,  1734." 

The  earliest  register  is  on  paper,  date  1 690. 

Old  Beaupre  Souse, — A  walk  of  about  a  mile  down  the  steep 
hill  forming  the  east  side  of  the  valley  of  the  Cowbridge  river 
brought  the  pedestrians  to  Old  Beaupr^,  the  carriages  being  left  to 
follow,  in  consequence  of  the  badness  of  the  road.  On  the  right 
hand,  after  leaving  St.  Hilary,  is  a  well-wooded  hillside,  called 
Coed  y  tor,  which  is  honeycombed  with  old  lead- workings  in  the 
limestone  rock.  The  ruins  of  Old  Beaupr6  House  adjoin  a  modern 
farmhouse.  The  situation  may  have  been  originally  chosen  for 
defensive  purposes,  for,  like  St.  Q dentin's  Castle,  it  is  placed  on  an 
eminence  round  the  foot  of  which  runs  the  Cowbridge  river, 
making  a  semicircular  bend  at  this  point.  The  principal  objects  of 
interest  here  are  a  remarkably  fine  entrance-gateway  and  a  porch, 
both  of  carved  stone  in  the  style  of  the  Renaissance,  ornamented 


380 


CABIBRIAN  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 


with  coats  of  arms  and  inscripfcions.  The  design  of  the  entrance- 
gateway,  through  which  access  is  obtained  to  the  conrtyard  within, 
is  not  unlike  that  of  the  chimney-pieces  and  over-mantels  of  the  same 
period.  The  doorway  has  a  Tador  arch,  showing  that  in  spite  of 
the  introduction  of  classical  architecture  the  Gothic  traditions  were 
not  yet  quite  extinct ;  bat  all  the  other  details  show  Italian  influ- 
ence. Above  the  centre  of  the  doorway  is  a  shield  with  the  Basset 
arms  and  the  family  motto,  misspelt,  "Gwell  angay  na  chwilydd**, 
instead  of  '*  Owell  angau  na  chywilydd",  meaning  '^  Rather  death 
than  shame".  This  motto  has  been  adopted  by  the  4 1st  Regiment. 
Just  below  the  horizontal  cornice  at  the  top  is  carved  in  the  middle 
the  date  1586,  on  the  right  the  initials  R.  B.,  and  on  the  left  the 
initials  R.  B.,  G.  B.  The  balusters  beneath  the  top  cornice  are  sug- 
gestive of  Elizabethan  woodworki  and  appear  rather  inappropriate 
when  executed  in  stone,  as  the  treatment  of  any  work  of  art  should 
always  be  adapted  to  the  requirements  of  the  material  used. 
Passing  through  the  outer  gateway  the  porch  of  the  house  is  seen 
immediately  opposite.  The  ground-plan  of  the  porch  is  a  square 
projecting  from  the  front  wall  of  the  house.  It  is  a  far  more 
imposing  piece  of  work  than  the  outer  gateway,  and  reaches  to  the 
full  height  of  the  house.  The  architectural  features  consist  of 
horizontal  cornices  supported  by  pairs  of  classical  columns.  Mr. 
W.  H.  Banks's  photographi  here  reproduced,  gives  a  good  idea  of 
the  general  effect  of  the  whole.  The  Basset  arms  occur  again  over 
the  porch,  but  with  the  motto  spelt  differently,  thus  :  "  Gwell 
anghay  na  chwilydd."  Above  there  are  three  tablets,  with  the 
following  inscriptions  in  Roman  capitals : 


SAT  COWDST   THOU    E 
VER   PYND  OR   EVER   HEA 
RE   OR   SEE   WORLLDLY  WRET 
CHE    OR   COWARD    PROVE 


A  FAITHFULL    FRYNDE 
TO   BEE    r[y]cHARDE 

ba8sett  having  to  wyf 
katherine  dauqhter  to 


SIR   THOMAS   JOHN   KNIGHT 
BWYLT   THIS   PORCHB   WITH 
THE  TONNES   IN  AN'o  1600 
HIS   YERES   65  HIS   WIFE  55 


Whilst  the  archeaologists  pure  and  simple  were  discussing  the 
possible  meaning  of  the  word  '*  Tonnes",  and  wondering  what  a 


PORCH. -OLD   BEAUPHfe. 


COWBRIDQB   MEETING. — REPORT.  381 

modom  reviewer  would  say  if  he  oanghfc  an  author  spelling  the 
same  word  in  two  or  three  different  ways  in  the  same  paragraph, 
as  was  evidently  a  not  nnoommon  practice  in  the  year  df  grace 
1600,  the  Rev.  Lewis  Morgan  beguiled  the  time  of  the  rest  by 
relating  a  local  tradition  concerning  the  builder.  It  appears  that 
two  stonemasons  who  were  in  partnership  fell  desperately  in  love 
with  the  same  fair  maid.  So  deadly  a  feud  was  the  result  that  the 
partners  ceased  to  be  on  speaking  terms,  and  this,  coming  to  the 
ears  of  the  damsel,  she  refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with  either. 
One  then  left  his  home  and  went  abroad,  where,  during  twenty 
years'  absence,  he  acquired  a  complete  knowledge  of  Italian  archi- 
tecture. On  his  return  he  was  engaged  by  the  then  head  of  the 
house  of  Basset  to  build  the  porch  at  Old  Beaupre.  Such  tradi- 
tions, whether  true  or  not,  have  an  interest  for  the  student  of  the 
origin  and  growth  of  myths.  A  peasant  picks  up  a  flint  arrow- 
head, and  the  secret  of  its  manufacture  being  lost,  he  attributes  it 
to  the  fairies.  So  with  any  more  than  usually  fine  piece  of  archi- 
tecture, when  its  history  has  been  forgotten,  the  common  people 
begin  by  wondering  how  it  ever  came  into  existence,  and  from  this 
it  is  but  a  short  step  to  inventing  such  stories  as  those  associated 
with  the  'prentices'  pillar  at  Roslyn  Chapel  in  Scotland  or  the 
towers  of  Cologne  Cathedral. 

Two  years  ago  the  porch  at  Old  Beanpr6  was  in  a  very  pre- 
carious condition,  and  would  most  certainly  have  fallen  but  for  the 
well-timed  efforts  of  the  present  representative  of  the  Basset  family 
for  its  preservation.  It  was  repaired  at  considerable  expense,  but 
the  work  has  been  so  thoroughly  well  done  that  there  is  every 
chance  of  this  beautiful  specimen  of  Renaissance  architecture  last- 
ing for  many  centuries  to  come.  The  Cambrian  ArchsBological 
Association  should  be  especially  grateful  to  Mr.  Basset  for  the  care 
he  has  taken  to  avert  the  decay  of  the  ancient  remains  on  his 
estate. 

Amongst  the  farm-buildings  at  the  back  is  one  which  has  a 
cusped  lancet  window  in  the  end  of  the  gable  of  the  Decorated 
period.  Old  Beaupr6  is  said  to  have  belonged  originally  to  Sitsyllt, 
ancestor  of  the  Cecils,  and  to  have  descended  through  Adam 
Turberville  of  Crickhowel  to  the  Bassets.  The  estate  was  mort- 
gaged to  pay  a  debt  to  the  Stradlings ;  sold  to  Edmunds ;  by  him 
bequeathed  to  Llewellyn  Treheme  of  St.  Hilary;  sold  to  Daniel 
Jones;  and  by  him  left  by  will  to  Capt.  Basset,  father  of  the 
present  owner.  Sir  Philip  Basset  of  St.  Hilary,  who  first  settled 
at  Beaupr^,  was  chancellor  to  Robert  Fitzroy,  Lord  of  Gloucester, 
and  afterwards  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England.  He  is  said  to  have 
drawn  up  the  Magna  Charta.^ 

Just  as  the  party  were  leaving  the  ruins,  a  gentleman  was 
observed  carrying  away  one  of  the  seventeenth  century  iron  door- 
hinges,  which  he  naively  remarked  would  be  more  appreciated  in 
the  Cardiff  Museum  than  lying  about  at  Old  Beaupre.     He  was, 

^  Glamorganshire  Notes  at  lAanover,  iv,  12,  152. 


382         CAMBRIAN  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

however,  persaaded  to  relinqaish  his  booty  on  its  being  explained 
to  him  that,  although  this  methqd  of  adding  to  a  collection  had  the 
advantage  of  simplicity  and  the  sanction  of  precedent,  it  was  not  a 
proceeding  which  the  Cambrian  Archaeological  Association  could 
approve  of  as  a  body,  whatever  individual  members  might  feel  dis- 
posed to  do  when  left  to  the  guidance  of  their  conscience. 

St.  Athan'a  Church, — The  next  place  visited  was  St.  Athan's, 
which  lies  about  three  miles  south  of  Old  Beaupr^  towards  the 
coast.  The  church  here  is  a  fine  cruciform  structure,  with  a 
central  tower  and  south  porch.  The  nave  has  been  restored  in  the 
worst  possible  taste,  and  new  windows  inserted,  entirely  devoid  of 
architectural  character ;  but  the  old  oak  roof  has  fortunately  been 
spared.  The  chancel  still  retains  three  of  the  otiginal  lancet- 
windows  in  the  south  wall,  and  there  was  evidently  a  fourth  next 
the  east  end.  The  priest's  door,  with  a  pointed  head,  also  remains 
below  these  windows.  The  oak  roof  of  the  chancel  is  of  the 
cradle-pattern,  16  ft.  in  span..  The  windows  in  the  transepts  have 
Decorated  tracery.  The  arches  under  the  tower  are  Pointed,  with- 
out moulding  of  any  kind.  The  two  opening  into  the  north  and 
south  transepts  are  old,  but  the  other  two  opening  into  the  nave 
and  chancel  have  been  restored. 

There  is  a  hagioscope  from  the  south  transept  to  the  chancel, 
and  there  appears  to  have  been  another  from  the  nave  to  the  south 
transept.  In  the  south  wall  of  the  chancel  is  a  credence-ledge 
under  a  wide  niche.  The  font  is  round,  shaped  like  a  vase,  con- 
tracted jnst  below  the  rim  and  swelling  out  below.  It  is  of  Sutton 
stone,  2  ft.  5  in.  diameter,  and  3  fb.  1  in.  high. 

The  tombs  of  the  Berkerolles,  of  East  Orchard  Castle,  attracted 
more  attention  than  anything  else  at  St.  Athan's.  The  finest  of 
the  two  monuments  is  placed  against  the  south  wall  of  the  south 
transept,  under  a  beautiful  double  canopy,  supported  in  the  middle 
by  a  bracket  having  a  human  head  carded  upon  it.  It  is  an  altar- 
tomb  with  figures  under  cusped  and  floriated  canopies  all  the  way 
round  the  sides,  and  on  the  top  are  recumbent  figures  of  a  knight 
in  plate-armour  with  dagger-belt,  and  his  lady,  both  having  their 
hands,  in  an  attitude  of  prayer,  resting  on  their  breaste.  The 
knight  bears  a  shield  over  the  left  shoulder  with  the  Berkerolles 
arms — a  chevron  and  three  crescents — as  on  one  of  the  bosses  of  the 
oak  roof  of  the  Old  Western  Church  at  Llantwit  Major.^  The 
heads  rest  on  pillows  and  the  feet  on  lions.  The  whole  of  the 
work  is  of  the  Decorated  period.  The  other  altar-tomb  is  at  right 
angles  to  the  one  just  described,  being  placed  against  the  east  wall 
of  the  south  transept. 

East  Orchard  Castle  is  situated  about  a  mile  east  of  St.  Athan's, 
on  the  top  of  the  precipitous  bank  of  the  Cowbridge  river;  but 
time  did  not  permit  of  its  being  inspected. 

St.  Athan's  is  called  Caer  Athan  in  the  Liber  Landavenais^  where 
it  is  frequently  mentioned.     The  communion-plate  is  modern. 

^  Arch.  Camb.,  Ser.  Ill,  vol.  iy,  p.  284. 


h: 


COWBRIDQE   MEETING. — REPORT.  383 

Oilston  Ohurch. — Driving  a  mile  soaib  wards  from  St.  Atban's, 
the  sea-coast  was  reached  near  West  Aberthaw,  where  the  Cow- 
bridge  river  debouches  into  the  Bristol  Channel.  The  name  of  the 
little  village  of  Aberthaw  is  well  known. throughout  the  whole  of 
Great  Britain,  on  account  of  the  excellent  lias  limestone  it  supplies 
for  the  manufacture  of  hydraulic  lime,  used  to  make  a  cement 
which  will  set  under  water.  Here  the  lovely  view  of  blue  sea, 
with  the  white  sails  of  the  shipping  seen  shimmering  through  the 
haze  of  a  hot  summer's  day,  would,  under  other  circumstances, 
have  received  at  least  a  passing  glance ;  but  luncheon  was  at  hand, 
and  the  hungry  archsBologists  were  not  sorry  to  adjourn  to  the 
Ocean  House,  where  an  ample  repast  awaited  them.  After  luncheon 
a  short  stroll  brought  the  party  to  Gilston  Church,  a  small  but 
picturesque  building,  consisting  of  a  nave,  chancel,  and  south  porch, 
having  a  small  bell-tarret  perched  on  the  top  of  the  west  gable. 
The  south  door  is  a  handsome  example  of  carved  woodwork,  six 
coats  of  arms  forming  the  decoration,  the  spaces  being  cleverly 
filled  in  with  conventional  leaves.  Mr.  Banks  was  kind  enough  to 
bring  his  camera  into  requisition,  so  that  we  are  enabled  to  illus- 
trate this  interesting  door.  The  oldest  window  in  the  church  is  a 
small  cusped  lancet,  in  the  south  wall  of  the  nave.  The  other 
features  noticed  were  the  rood-loft  stair,  in  the  north  wall  of  the 
nave ;  a  cusped  niche  for  an  image  over  the  south  door ;  the  font, 
a  plain  cylindrical  one,  without  mouldings  or  ornament,  on  a 
round  stem ;  and  the  churchyard  cross,  with  the  socket-stone  and 
part  of  the  shaft  remaining,  supported  on  four  steps. 

On  a  marble  tablet,  surmounted  by  a  crest  and  coat  of  arms  in 
Qilston  Church : — 

"  Here  lyeth  the  body  of  Major  William  Giles,  of  this  parish,  the 
son  of  Matthew  Giles,  gent.,  who  departed  this  life  the  5th  of 
June,  in  y*  year  of  our  Lord  1673,  who  left  behind  him  his  daughter 
Winifred  sole  heiress  of  this  manor,  who  was  married  to  James 
Allen,  gent.  She  died  Feby.  y'  2nd,  1700.  He  departed  this  life 
y*  Gth  March,  1711,  and  left  two  daughters  by  the  said  Winifred — 
Mary,  who  marry ed  Richard  Came  of  Ewenny,  Esq.,  the  sole  sur- 
viving heiress  of  this  manor,  at  whose  expense  this  monument  was 
erected ;  Martha,  marryed  Charles  Penry,  of  the  town  of  Breck- 
nock, Esq.,  who  dy'd  June  the  12th,  1724,  and  lies  interred  at 
Brecknock." 

Fonmon  Castle. — The  event  of  the  day  most  highly  appreciated  was 
undoubtedly  the  visit  to  Fonmon  Castle,  the  property  of  Oliver  H. 
Jones,  Esq.,  son  of  the  late  lamented  B.  Oliver  Jones,  Esq.,  one  of  our 
Vice-Presidents,  and  himself  a  member  of,  the  Association,  in  the 
welfare  of  which  his  father  always  took  so  lively  an  interest.  Fon- 
mon Castle  is  situated  two  miles  east  of  St.  Athan's,  on  the  east  of 
the  valley  of  the  river  Eenson,  a  tributary  of  the  Cowbridge  river. 
It  is  on  the  west  bank  of  a  steep  ravine,  branching  out  of  the 
Kenson  valley,  that  runs  up  from  just  below  St.  Athan's,  towards 
Penmark,    where    there   is   another  mediaaval    stronghold.      The 


384  CAMBRIAN  ARCHiEOLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

entrance  of  the  Cowbridge  river  is  commanded  by  East  Orchard 
Castle,  near  the  point  where  the  two  valleys  meet.  Fonmon  Castle 
is  described  and  illustrated  by  Mr.  G.  T.  Clark  in  the  ArchoBologia 
Cambrensis  (Ser.  Ill,  vol.  vii,  p.  8),  and  in  his  Mediceval  Military 
Architecture  (vol.  ii,  p.  49).  The  keep  is  a  good  specimen  of  an 
Early  English  rectangalar  one,  and  was  bnilt  towards  the  end  of  the 
twelfth  century  by  Sir  John  de  St.  John.  Additions  of  a  slightly 
later  date  completed  the  original  Castle,  to  which  a  considerable 
addition  was  made  about  the  time  of  the  Commonwealth.  When 
the  St.  Johns  married  the  heiress  of  the  Bcauchamps,  they  ceased  to 
live  at  Fonmon  as  their  principal  place,  and  in  1664  it  was  sold  to 
Colonel  Philip  Jones,  from  whom  it  descended  to  the  present 
owner. 

When  the  party  arrived  at  the  gates  of  the  Castle,  Mr.  Oliver  H. 
Jones  stood  ready  to  receive  his  guests  and  conduct  them  over  his 
venerable  castellated  mansion.  Under  his  able  guidance  the  visitors 
inspected,  first  the  outside,  to  get  a  general  idea  of  the  situation, 
and  then  the  various  apartments  within.  Mr.  Jones  took  great 
pains  to  show  everything  that  was  worth  seeing  to  his  guests,  not 
the  least  interesting  amongst  which  were  the  portraits  of  Crom- 
well, of  Ireton,  and  of  Mr.  Robert  Jones,  painted  by  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds.  After  climbing  the  broad  oak  staircases  of  the  newer 
portion  of  the  house  and  the  narrow  stone  ones  of  the  older  part, 
the  leads  of  the  roof  were  reached,  whence  a  fine  view  is  obtained 
of  the  surrounding  country.  A  large  number  of  documents  of 
considerable  historical  value  are  preserved  at  Fonmon,  a  selection 
from  which  were  displayed  in  the  library  on  this  occasion,  in  order 
to  give  the  members  an  opportunity  of  inspecting  them.  Some  of 
these  documents  have  been  already  printed,  but  many  others  still 
remain  to  be  published,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  some  of  them 
may  be  reproduced  in  facsimile  in  the  ArchoBologia  Camhrensia  at 
some  future  time.  Mr.  Jones  having  been  requested  to  explain  the 
chief  points  of  interest  connected  with  the  collection  of  MSS.,  and 
to  say  a  few  words  about  the  history  of  the  Castle,  then  delivered 
an  address,  which  was  listened  to  with  the  utmost  attention,  and  at 
its  close  Mr.  Jones  was  cordially  thanked  by  all  those  present  for 
his  kindness.  The  following  list  of  some  of  the  most  interesting  docu- 
ments at  Fonmon  has  been  kindly  supplied  by  Mr.  Oliver  Jones : — 

1.  Appointment  of  Colonel  Philip  Jones,  described  in  the  deed 
as  "  the  Rt.  Honble.  Philip  Lord  Jones,  Comptroller  of  his  High- 
ness Household,  and  one  of  his  Highness  most  honourable  Privy 
Council",  to  be  one  of  the  Governors  of  the  Charter  House,  in  the 
room  of  "  Richard,  Lord  Protector  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Eng- 
land, Scotland,  and  Ireland",  who  had  resigned.  It  is  dated  1658, 
and  is  sealed  with  the  common  seal  of  the  governors  of  the 
Charter  House,  and  also  signed  and  .sealed  by  '^Nath.  ffiennes*', 
"John  Asher"(?),  "B.  Whitelocke",  "Q.  Lisle",  "Prynne",  "Wm. 
Lenfchall",  "ffsh.  Skippon",  "Edw.  Cessett"  (?). 

Colonel  Jones  was  raised   by  Oliver   Cromwell   to   his   Upper 


COWBRIDGE   MEETING. — REPORT.  385 

Honse,  hence  his  descripidon  as  Lord.  I  cannot  make  ont  for 
certain  the  names  I  have  pat  a  query  to.  This  deed  is  very 
handsomely  adorned  round  the  margin  with  birds  and  flowers  in 
pen-and-ink  drawing,  and  the  initial  Tetters  are  very  elaborate. 

2.  Pardon,  dated  1662,  granted  by  Charles  II  to  Serjeant  Evan 
Seys,  of  Boverton,  Glamorganshire,  for  having  acted  as  Attorney- 
Oeneral  under  the  Commonwealth  in  South  Wales.  The  deed  is 
in  Latin.  In  the  initial  letter  is  a  good  portrait  of  Charles  II, 
'*  head  and  shoulders",  with  full  black  wig  and  ermine  robes,  with 
the  collar  of  the  Garter.  Serjeant  Seys  was  one  of  an  old  Gla- 
morganshire family,  long  seated  at  Boverton,  near  Llantwit  Major. 
The  main  line  ended  in  an  heiress  who  married  into  the  Fonmon 
family.     The  seal  of  this  deed  is  destroyed. 

3.  Feoffment,  by  Robert  Nerber,  of  the  manor  of  Lancovian,  in 
the  fee  of  Llanblethian,  to  Thomas  Lyddyn  and  William  ap 
Llewelyn,  31  Henry  VI.  The  Nerbers  were  a  powerful  family  who 
came  early  into  Glamorganshire,  and  were  seated  at  Castleton, 
near  St.  Tathan.     Seal  destroyed.     No  signature.     Latin. 

4.  Indenture  between  William  Cecil  Lord  Burghley  and  Edward 
Stradling,  gent.,  concerning  livery  of  manor  of  West  Llantwit, 
Glamorgan.  Signed,  W.  Burghley  and  Edw.  Stradling;  the  last 
signature  nearly  illegible.  Seals  almost  destroyed.  26  Elizabeth. 
This  is,  of  course,  the  celebrated  Lord  Burghley. 

5.  Assignment,  21  Charles  I,  of  a  lease,  dated  36  Henry  YIII. 
The  lease  for  a  thousand  years  is  granted  by  Sir  Richard  Williatns 
alias  Cromwell  to  Morgan  John  Walter  of  Llanyltyd  of  premises 
called  Keven  y  Sayson,  in  Cadoxton.  This  is  interesting  as  show- 
ing that  the  Cromwell  family  also  called  themselves  Williams  in 
Henry  VIII's  time,  thus  showing  the  Welsh  descent  of  Oliver 
Cromwell. 

6.  Grant  of  land,  near  Ewenny  bridge,  by  "  Paganus  de  Turber- 
vill",  lord  of  Coity,  about  1316.  This  deed  is  sealed  with  a  seal  in 
black  wax,  with  a  shield  in  the  middle,  and  a  legend  round  it.  I 
cannot  decipher  the  bearings  or  the  legend.  This  man  was  one  of 
the  Turbervills,  who  were  among  the  earliest  Norman  settlers  in 
Glamorgan,  and  built  Coity  Castle,  near  Bridgend.  The  deed  is  in 
Latin,  and  interesting  from  its  age. 

7.  Latin.  Writ,  dated  7th  day  of  January,  20  Elizabeth,  to 
summon  a  jury  for  trial  of  a  cause  at  the  Great  Sessions  for 
Glamorgan,  and  sewn  on  to  this,  on  another  strip  of  parchment, 
the  names  of  the  jnrors  returned,  twenty- four  in  number,  drawn 
from  various  parishes.  I  cannot  make  out  where  the  Great  Sessions 
were  held;  but  the  writing  is  very  faint,  and  in  places  illegible. 

8.  4  May  1651.  Indenture  lease  of  a  tenement  in  Swansea. 
"  Bt.  Honble.  Oliver  Cromwell,  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland",  to 
Phillip  Jones,  Esq.     Signed  "  O.  Cromwell."    No  seal.     English. 

9.  22  Oct,  15  Elizabeth.  Appointment,  by  William  Bassett  of 
Beaupre,  of  Roger  Seys  to  be  his  steward  of  manors  of  St.  Hillary, 
Tregove,  Llantrythid,  and  Penon.     Shows  various  manors  held  by 


386         CAMBRIAN  ARCH-^OLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

the  BassettB  at  that  time,  and  also  mentions  another  of  the  Seys 
family.     English. 

10.  17  August,  20  Edward  IV,  1480.  Feoffment,  by  John 
Herbert,  otherwise  Raglan,  Esq.,  to  G-riffith  ap  Avon,  and  others, 
of  his  lands  in  the  dominion  of  Llantwit.  Latin.  One  branch  of 
the  Herberts  called  themselves  Raglan,  and  were  settled  for  a  con- 
siderable period  at  Carnllwyd,  near  Llancarvan. 

11.  A  statute  staple,  29  June,  19  Charles  I,  sealed  with  three  seals, 
red  wax.  Signed,  Rich.  Steephens.  Other  signatures  illegible; 
endorsed,  *'  a  stat.  staple  by  Richard  Steevens  to  Robt.  Bridges,  29 
Junii  (19  Car.),  for  600"  (?).  Not  sure  as  to  the  money.  Steephens' 
seal  much  bigger  than  the  others;  something  like  a  rose  on  it. 

12.  Henry  VIII.  Feoffment  of  manor  of  Eglwys  Brewis,  Gla- 
morgan. Feoffor,  William  Bassett  of  Treguff.  Seal  dark  red  wax ; 
very  fine  impression.  Shield,  a  chevron  between  three  hunting- 
horns,  two  above  and  one  below.  Legend  round,  *^  Sigillum  Guillielmi 
bassit".     One  of  the  many  branches  of  the  Bassetts. 

18.  James  I.  Indenture  between  James  I  and  James  Shaw. 
Sealed  with  the  great  seal  of  England  in  red  wax,  and  sigpaed  R. 
Salisbury.  This  was  Richard  Cecil,  son  of  the  great  Lord  Burghley, 
who  was  created  Earl  of  Salisbury. 

14.  11  Dec.  1667.  Warrant  under  the  Privy  Seal  of  Oliver 
Lord  Protector  to  pay  the  fee  of  Serjeant  Seys,  Attorney-General, 
of  Glamorgan.  Signed,  Gervase  Lawson,  Dept  of  Miles  Fleet- 
wood. Enrolled  in  the  Exchequer.  The  seal  is  of  red  wax;  the 
supporters  a  lion  and  griffin;  the  crest  the  royal  lion  on  a  crown; 
the  shield  quarterly,  1st  and  4th,  St.  George's  cross;  2nd,  St. 
Andrew's  cross;  3rd,  Irish  harp;  with  something  on  an  escutcheon 
of  pretence.     Legend  mutilated ;  word  "  Protector"  visible. 

The  journey  was  then  resumed,  but  Penmark  had  to  be  omitted 
from  the  programme  for  want  of  time. 

Llancarvan  Church, — It  was  tantalising  to  have  to  hurry  through 
the  visit  to  a  place  so  celebrated  in  the  literary  history  and  hagiologr 
of  Wales  as  Llancarvan ;  but  at  the  end  of  a  long  day  a  bare  half- 
hour  was  all  that  could  be  spared,  so  we  had  to  make  the  best  of 
it,  and  scribble  notes  and  sketch  at  lightning  speed.  Llancarvan 
is  situated  about  a  mile  and  a  half  north  of  Fonmon  Castle.  Most 
of  us  are  already  familiar  with  the  events  in  the  life  of  St.  Cadoc, 
to  whom  the  church  is  dedicated.  If,  however,  there  be  any  whom 
the  fame  of  Cattwg  the  Wise  has  not  yet  reached,  they  must  be 
referred  to  the  "  Vita  S.  Cadoci,  in  the  Lives  of  the  GamhrO' British 
Saints^  published  by  the  Welsh  MSS.  Society.  It  is  sufficient  here 
to  state  that  he  lived  in  the  sixth  century,  and  that  no  less  than, 
sixteen  churches  in  Wales  preserve  his  name  in  their  dedications. 
The  site  of  the  original  monastery  appears  to  have  been,  not  at 
Llancarvan,  but  at  Llanveithen  or  Bangor  Cattwg,  three-quarters 
of  a  mile  higher  up  the  valley.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that 
time  did  not  admit  of  this  place  being  visited,  and  Ffynnon  Dyfry 
(St.  Dubricius'  Well),  not  far  beyond,  as  the  whole  locality  teems 


COWBRIDQE  MEETING. — REPORT.  387 

wUh  aasociations  of  earl;  Welsh  saints.  Caradoo,  the  author  of 
the  Brut  y  Tyviyeogion,  or  Chronicle  of  the  Princes,  the  basis  of  the 
most  antheotic  history  of  Wales,  lived  at  Llancarvan  in  the  twelfth 
century.  The  ohnrch  and  parish  of  Llancarvan  have  been  very 
fully  dsHCribed  in  the  Archtsologia  OambremU  (vol.  ii,  Ser.  3, 
p.  261). 

The  plan  consists  of  a  nave,  chancel,  western  tower,  &  sontli 
aisle  the  whole  length  of  the  ohnrch,  and  a  south  porch.  The 
architectural  features  are  more  interesting  than  those  in  most  of 
the  other  chnrches  in  the  neighbourhood.  The  chancel-arch  (Transi- 
tional Norman)  is  probably  the  earliest  part,  and  perhaps  the  work 
of  Waltor  de  Mapes,  in  the  reign  of  Henry  II.  The  abacus  is 
ornamented  with  iacised  fonr-pointed  stars,  like  that  at  Peamark. 
The  arcade  of  fbnr  Pointed  arches  between  the  nave  and  sonth 
aisle  is  peculiar.  The  piers  are  2  fb.  6  in.  sqnare  at  the  top  and 
bottom ;  but  the  angles  are  chamfered  with  a  stop  at  the  bottom 
and  a  head  at  the  top,  making  the  pier  octagonal  in  the  middle. 
The  carred  heads  are  curious ;  one  having  a  crown  with  three 
flenr-de-lys,  and  two  others  putting  oat  their  tongues  in  a  most 
hideous  fashion.  The  oak  roofs  are  of  the  cradle- pattern,  and  there 
are  some  good  Decorated  windows  in  the  south  aisle. 


Qroteaqna  Hrada,  LUnotu-nui, 

The  ecclesiological  or  ritualistic  arrangements  consist  of  an 
octagonal  font  (Decorated);  stonp  inside  sooth  door;  piscinas  in 
chancel  and  sonth  aisle;  rood-loft  stair  in  north  wall  of  Dare; 
rood-screen  misplaced  as  a  reredos  behind  the  altar ;  and  priest's 
door. 

The  roof  of  the  tower  is  off,  and  the  bells  lying  on  the  gronnd, 
it  not  being  safe  to  hang  them  nntil  this  part  of  the  church  is 
repaired.  The  lock  of  the  west  door  of  the  tewer,  with  a  wooden 
case,  is  deserring  of  notice.  A  fragment  of  Sutton  atone  with  inter- 


388  CAMBRIAN  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

laced  work,  preserved  at  Llancarvan,  bafl  been  very  incorrectly  illus- 
trated in  Professor  I.  0.  Westwood's  Lapidarium  WaUice  (pi.  101, 
figs.  2  and  3). 

Llantryihid  Church  and  Manauni, — The  last  place  on  the  pro- 
gramme was  Llantrythid,  two  miles  north  of  Llancarvan,  and  four 
miles  and  a  half  east  of  Cowbridge,  which  was  taken  on  the  return 
journey.  The  plan  of  the  church,  which  has  been  already  described 
in  the  Archceologia  Camhrensis,  consists  of  a  nave,  chancel,  west 
tower,  and  south  porch ;  a  stoup  like  that  at  Llancarvan  ;  rood-loft 
stair;  and  rood-screen.  The  church  possesses  two  remarkable 
monuments :  (1)  Under  a  niche  in  north  wall  of  a  recumbent  effigy 
with  hands  folded  in  prayer ;  head  tonsured,  resting  on  square  pil- 
low beneath  trefoil  canopy  ;  feet  resting  on  greyhound  ;  ball-flower 
ornament  and  fleur-de-lys.  (2)  An  altar-tomb  against  north  wall, 
with  mural  appendages  and  inscriptions,  having  two  recumbent 
figures,  representing  Sir  Anthony  Manse],  who  died  in  1544,  and  his 
wife  Elizabeth,  who  died  in  1596,  daughter  of  John  Basset ;  the 
tomb  was  erected  by  Elizabeth  Hansel  in  1597.  Hansel  and  Basset 
arms. 

The  chalice  and  paten  are  Elizabethan,  dated  1576 ;  chalice, 
silver-gilt,  inscribed  "Hy  Blonde  is  dirinke  indeed.'* 

The  Llantrythid  estate  was  given  by  Fitzhamon  to  Madoc  ap 
Jestyn,  and  belonged  successively  to  the  Bassets,  Hansels,  and 
Aubreys.  Sir  John  Aubrey,  the  last  baronet  who  lived  at  Llan- 
trythid House,  lost  his  son  under  distressing  circumstances,  in 
consequence  of  which  he  left  the  place.  In  1832  the  roof  fell, 
and  the  place  is  now  a  ruin  ;  but  some  views  of  the  interior  have 
been  preserved  amongst  Mrs.  Traherne's  sketches,  now  in  the  pos- 
session of  T.  M.  Franklen,  Esq.,  of  St.  Hilary.  A  plan  of  the 
building  is  given  in  the  ArchoBologia  Canibrensis  (vol.  xiii,  Ser.  3, 
p.  214),  showing  that  it  consisted  of  a  rectangular  block  with  two 
wings  at  each  side. 

This  day's  excursion  terminated  most  pleasantly  with  a  tea,  to 
which  the  members  were  very  kindly  invited  by  Roper  Tyler,  Esq., 
the  present  owner  of  the  modern  mansion  of  Llantrythid. 


EVENING   HEETING,   TUESDAY,  AUGUST   14th. 

The  evening  meeting  was  held  at  the  Town  Hall,  there  being 
again  a  good  attendance. 

Archdeacon  Thomas,  in  the  absence  of  the  President,  occupied 
the  chair,  and  opened  the  proceedings  by  giving  a  well  thought-out 
resume  of  the  day's  work,  commenting  amongst  other  things  on  the 
dilapidated  state  of  the  tower  at  Llancarvan,  and  protesting  against 
the  thoughtless  conduct  of  the  gentleman  who  was  about  to  carry 
away  one  of  the  sixteenth  century  iron  hinges  from  Old  Beaupr^ 
for  the  Cardiff  Museum,  without  first  obtaining  permission  fi-om  the 
owner  to  do  so. 


COWBRIDGE   MEETING. — REPORT.  389 

The  following  three  papers  were  then  read,  and  will  be  printed 
in  the  Journal : — 

"  The  Norwich  Taxation  of  the  Diocese  of  Llandaff ."  By  the 
Ven.  Archdeacon  Thomas,  F.S.A. 

"English  Inflaence  in  Wales."     By  Edward  Owen,  Esq. 

"  The  Manor  of  Llanblethian.'*     By  James  Andrew  Corbett,  Esq. 

Votes  of  thanks  were  passed  to  the  authors  of  these  papers, 
which  were  listened  to  thronghont  with  marked  attention.  The 
meeting  then  terminated. 

For  several  reasons  the  Local  Committee  were  unable  to  form  a 
Mnsenm,  as  is  nsnally  done  on  the  occasion  of  the  annual  meetings 
of  the  Cambrian  ArchsBological  Association ;  but  this  shorteoming 
was  to  a  certain  extent  made  good  by  the  private  efforts  of  Mr. 
David  Jones,  of  Wallington,  Surrey,  who  exhibited  a  very  valuable 
series  of  drawings  and  maps  in  the  ante-room  of  the  Town  Hall, 
illustrating  the  antiquities  of  Glamorganshire.  Mr.  Jones  also 
produced  at  the  meeting  the  skull  of  a  horse  clothed  te  represent 
the  head  of  the  animal  when  alive,  which  is  called  a  "  Mari  Lwyd", 
and  is  carried  about  in  procession.  He  has  been  good  enough  to 
furnish  the  following  account  of  this  curious,  ancient  custom  : — 

The  Mari  Lwyd:  a  Twelfth  Night  Custom, — The  rapid  decay  and 
disappearance  of  old  customs  which  the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century  has  witnessed  is  a  matter  of  such  common  observation  that 
it  has  become  the  merest  of  truisms  to  speak  of  it.  Many  old 
observances  which  this  centary  had  inherited  from  a  long  line  of 
predecessors  have  now  ceased  to  be  found  even  as  "  survivals";  if 
met  with  at  all,  I  apprehend  it  would  be  only  as  "  revivals",  pro- 
duced as  something  strange  and  rare  for  the  amusement  of  the 
curious.  Thus  it  has  come  to  pass  that  the  special  local  observ- 
ances and  rural  pageantry  which  in  Glamorganshire,  on  and  about 
Twelfth  Night,  wound  up  the  festivities  of  Christmastide,  are  no 
longer  to  be  met  with  as  part  of  the  life  of  the  people.  "Canu 
Gwassaila"  and  the  going  about  with  a  "Mari  Lwyd" — customs 
common  enough  in  the  forties  and  fifties  of  the  century — must  now, 
I  suspect,  be  classed  with  the  things  of  the  past.  Both  customs — 
for  they  certainly  were  each  of  distinct  origin — were  known  by  the 
one  name  of  "  Canu  Gwassaila",  or  even  more  commonly,  "  Singing 
Gwassaila."  But,  while  the  "  Gwassailwyr"  proper  needed  not  to 
trouble  themselves  with  providing  a  "Mari  Lwyd",  those  who 
went  about  with  a  "Mari  Lwyd"  were  perforce  obliged  to  "Sing 
Gwassaila".  Singing  was  part  of  the  performance,  and  tradition 
provided  them  with  no  other  song.  Of  the  two  names,  the  first  is 
self-explanatory :  it  is  the  "  Singing  of  Wassail";  the  second,  in  ite 
application  at  least,  is  not  very  clear.  The  word  "  Lwyd"  means 
"Blessed".  How  the  name  "Blessed  Mary"  has  come  to  be  applied 
to  the  skeleton  of  a  horse's  head,  decked  with  ribbons  and  other 
finery,  as  will  be  presently  described,  is  ^  question  easier  put  than 
answered.     An  attempt,  however,  will  be  made  to  explain  its  appli- 

27 « 


390         CAMBRIAN  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

cation ;  and  the  conclusions  arrived  at  may  or  may  not  be  accept- 
able. What  follows  on  this  subject  will  be  takeo  chiefly  from  a  con- 
tribution of  my  own  to  a  Glamorganshire  newspaper  in  1878 — one 
of  a  series  of  papers  on  local  folk-lore — in  which  the  Christmas  and 
Twelfth  Night  customs  of  Glamorganshire  were  dealt  with  at  length. 
To  the  theory  I  then  advanced  I  still  adhere,  and  I  &ncy  it  has  since 
been  adopted  elsewhere. 

By  the  kindness  of  a  friend  at  Llangynwyd  there  was  exhibited 
at  the  late  meeting  of  the  Association  at  Cowbridge  a  very  fair 
representation  of  a  **  Mari  Lwyd".  It  was  not  (as  it  turned  out)  a 
veritable  "  Mari*'  which  had  gone  the  round  of  the  parish,  but  had, 
in  the  previous  winter,  be&n  specially  got  up  to  aid  in  the  illustra- 
tion of  a  lecture  on  Glamorganshire  Customs  delivered  at  Maes  teg, 
and  some  of  the  details  it  had  not  been  thought  necessary  to  re- 
produce for  the  occasion.^  It  "was  enough  like  in  appearance  to 
answer  the  purposes  required. 

The  "  Gwassailwyr"  pure  and  simple  were  a  body  of  rustics  who 
enlivened  the  season,  both  for  themselves  and  their  neighbours,  by 
going  about  from  house  to  house  singing  the  Wassail  song.  It  was 
sufficient  for  the  occasion  if  they  blackened  their  faces,  wore  rough 
masks,  or  disguised  themselves  in  any  manner,  and  the  rougher  the 
disguise  the  better.  One  of  them  should  be  in  woman's  clothes,  to 
play  the  part  of  "  Bessy".  Bossy  carried  a  besom  ;  the  others  had 
staves,  with  which,  when  the  in-door  fun  began,  they  belaboured 
each  other's  sides  and  backs  in  a  manner  which  would  have  been 
painful  to  behold  if  one  had  not  known  that  each  and  all  wei*e 
pretty  well  protected  by  straw  under  their  puffed-out  garments. 
At  the  door  of  the  house  they  wassailed  they  began  with  the  follow- 
ing song,  to  a  traditional  tune,  which  I  doubt  not  is  still  well 

known : — 

I.  III. 

*'  0  dyma  ni'n  dy wed  "  0  tapwch  y  faril 

Gym'docon  dinuwad,  Gyllynwch  yn  rhigill,  &c. 

I  ofun  cewn  genad,  &c.  Nos  heno. 

I.  ganu. 

IV. 
II.  •  "  AV  deishan  fr&s  felus 

"  Os  na  chewn  ni  genad  A  phob  sort  o  spisus 

Ni  drewn  ar  y  nailldu,  &c.  A  gatwyd  yn  garcis,  &c. 

Nos  heno.  Y  gi^yla. 

V. 
"  Oei'r  g^yla  mynd  heibo  '  Ond  ni  sjdd  yn  cofio,  &c. 

Heb  neb  dod  i*ch  cofio  ?  Nos  heno !" 

These  were  verses  of  obligation :  when  these  had  been  sung  then, 
possibly,  would  come  the  tug  of  war.     It  was  a  recognised  part  of 

^  The  "  Mari''  which  was  exhibited  has  since  been  presented  to  the 
Museum  at  Cardiff,  and  I  understand  that  the  energetic  Curator  of  that 
institution  has  since  obtained  another  from  Lantwit  Major,  which  had  seen 
actual  service  in  that  parish. 


COWBRIDGE  MEETING. — REPORT.  391 

the  custom  that  if  any  one  inside  the  house  replied,  those  outside 
must  answer,  and  so  a  musical  dialogue  would  be  kept  up  until  one 
or  the  other  of  the  two  parties  would  be  unable  to  respond  in 
impromptu  verse.  When  at  last  they  obtained  admission,  it  would 
be  well  if  ample  space  had  been  cleared  for  them  in  the  kitchen  or 
other  suitable  apartment  wherein  they  might  display  their  antics. 
A  good  deal  of  '*  horse-play"  would  be  indulged  in,  for  the  licence 
extended  to  the  season  by  prescription  would  be  availed  of  to  the 
utmost.  They  should  by  right  have  with  them  a  wassail- bowl,  or 
that  which  is,  I  believe,  its  proper  Glamorganshire  substitute, 
namely,  a  feol  made  of  Ewenny  ware;  but  the  ^'survival'*  of  these 
articles  within  the  time  to  which  my  own  memory  extends  was  a 
common  bucket,  or  even,  it  might  be,  a  tin  can  !  Whichever 
vessel  it  may  have  been,  it  would  be  passed  round,  or  at  least  you 
would  be  offered  a  mugful  of  drink  out  of  it,  while  it  was  of  course 
expected  that  the  master  of  the  house  would  do  his  part  in  keeping 
it  pretty  well  replenished  from  the  "  barrel",  which  in  song  they 
had  already  asked  should  be  '^  tapped"  for  them.  Finally,  the 
jingling  of  coins  in  a  battered  tin  vessel,  which  did  duty  for  a 
money-box,  would  be  heard,  and  when  this  appeal  had  been  re- 
sponded to  the  Wassailers  would  take  their  departure,  singing  ere 
they  went  a  valedictory  stanza  outside  the  house  door.  The  words 
of  this  closing  verse  I  do  not  remember. 

For  the  '*  Mari  Lwyd"  mach  greater  preparation  was  required. 
Indeed,  it  took  the  long  evenings  of  several  weeks  beforehand  to 
get  everything  necessary  for  the  success  of  the  pageant,  and  put  all 
in  apple-pie  order.  Why,  the  "Mari  Lwyd*'  was  the  pride  and 
admiration  of  the  whole  village !  EverylH)dy  almost  would  have 
had  a  hand  in  the  adorning  of  it  and  in  decking  out  these  '*  Grwas- 
sailwyr" — mothers,  sisters,  sweethearts — all !  The  lads  who  formed 
the  party  came  dressed  not  only  in  their  "Sunday  best",  bnt  in 
great  bravery  of  ribbons  of  many  colours  (cheerfully  lent  them  by 
the  women)  superadded  to  coats  and  hats.  If  ribbons  were  not 
abundant  enough,  the  want  would  be  supplied  by  a  sort  of  frilling 
of  coloured  paper.  The  "Mari  Lwyd"  itself,  however,  has  not 
been  described.  The  basis  of  the  structure  was,  as  has  already 
been  stated,  the  skeleton  of  a  horse's  head.  This  was  padded  on 
the  outer  side,  where  the  flesh  had  been,  and  then  covered  into 
shape  with  white  calico.  The  jaw  was  so  fastened  as  to  move  up 
and  down  easily,  and  could  be  made  to  "  bite"  at  the  will  of  the 
man  who  played  the  part  of  "horse".  Eyes  were  made  out  of  the 
bottoms  of  broken  beer-bottles  carefully  chipped  round,  while  the 
ears  would  be  of  felt,  leather,  or  any  suitable  material.  The  whole 
would  be  decked  with  "ribbons  so  plenty"  that  the  "Mari"  was 
indeed  a  sight  to  see  !  There  was  also  some  arrangement  to  give 
the  appearance  of  a  neck,  and  over  this  from  the  head  there 
depended  a  long  and  large  sheet  or  loose  gown  of  calico,  which 
served  to  conceal  the  young  man  who  gave  life  to  the  "  Mari".  A 
smart  "  groom"  had  charge  of  the  "  animal",  which  he  led  by  a 


392         CAMBRIAN  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

long  rein  of  wide  scarlet  braid.  The  number  of  the  party  would  be 
regulated  by  liking  or  convenience,  but  they  were  usually  about 
six.  They  also  sang  at  each  door  they  went  to  about  three  verses 
of  the  Wassail  song  already  given  ;  upon  the  fourth  they  changed 
from  Welsh  to  English,  thus : 

'*  We've  got  a  fine  Mary, 
She  'fl  dressed  very  pretty 
With  ribbons  so  plenty 

This  Christmas.'' 

This  is  how  it  would  be  managed  in  the  bilingual  district  compris- 
ing the  Yale  of  Glamorgan.  In  the  northern  parts  of  the  county 
the  singers  continued  in  Welsh,  thus : 

"  Mae  Mari  Lwyd  yma 
Mae'n  worth  i  gael  gola', 
Yn  Uawn  o  rhubana, 

Y  Gwyla  !" 

Aifter  this  intimation  it  was  not  usual  to  challenge  them  to  a 
musical  parley  from  the  inside ;  they  were  generally  admitted  at 
once.  They  brought  with  them  no  "  survival"  of  the  wassail- 
bowl,  such  as  we  have  seen  the  "  Gwassailwyr"  proper  had,  as  an 
inseparable  adjunct  to  their  perambulations,  and  their  proceedings 
indoors  were  of  a  more  orderly  character  than  what  has  been 
already  described.  Still  there  was  a  good  deal  of  romping.  If 
there  were  any  young  women  about,  they  came  in  for  the  not  very 
welcome  attentions  of  "Mari",  who  ran  after  them,  pretending  to 
bite,  and  so  forth.  It  was  all  meant  in  harmless  fun,  and  the  whole 
proceedings  generally  promoted  a  good  deal  of  it.  They  would 
have  beer  given  to  them,  and,  possibly,  a  piece  of  cake  each. 
They,  too,  had  a  money-box.  On  leaving,  the  strain  sung  by  this 
party,  at  the  door,  was — 

"  God  bless  the  ruler  of  this  house, 
And  send  him  long  to  reign, 
And  many  a  merry  Christmas 
May  he  live  to  see  again. 

And  God  send  you  a  happy  new  year." 

There  seems  to  have  been,  eighty  or  one  hundred  years  ago,  a 
sort  of  unwritten  law  that  the  "Mari  Lwyd"  of  one  parish  should 
not  intrude  within  the  bounds  of  another.  If  this  were  done  the 
intruding  party  did  so  at  its  peril;  for  if  it  were  so  met  by  a 
"  Mari  Lwyd"  party  of  the  parish  intruded  upon  there  would  be  a 
battle  royal  between  them,  and  each  would  do  its  best  to  destroy 
the  "  Mari  Lwyd"  of  the  other. 

It  will,  I  think,  be  at  once  conceded  that  in  this  rustic  pageant 
of  the  "Mari  Lwyd",  or  the  "Blessed  Mary",  we  have  had 
amongst  us  the  survival  of  part  of  some  ancient  popular  rite  or 
ceremony.     Is  it  not  the  last  remnant  of  the  once  highly  popular 


/ 


COWBRIDGE   MEETING. — REPORT.  393 

•*  Festival  of  the  Ass"  ?     This  festival  was  held  on  the  14th  Janu- 
ary, and  commemorated  the  flight  of  the   Holy  Family  into  Egypfc. 
An  ass  decked  in  rich  robes  or  trappings  was  led  to  the  high  altar 
of  the  parish  church,  and  a  special  service  performed  in  its  honour, 
the  responses  to  which  were  an  imitation  of  the  hee-hawing  of  the 
animal  itself.    After  this  ceremony  a  girl  and  child,  personating  the 
Virgin  and   Child,  mounted   the   ass   and  were  taken  round  the 
parish.     A  wooden  ass  was  sometimes  used,  and  lay  figures  repre 
sen  ting  the  Mother  and  Child  placed  thereon.     In  either  case  the 
perambulation  of  the  parish  seems  to  have  been  an  essential  part  of 
the  proceedings.     What  more  likely,  then,  than  that  the  "  Blessed 
Mary",  which  so  many  generations  of  our  Glamorganshire  lads  took 
so  much  pains  to  get  up,  deck  so  bravely,  and  carry  from  house  to 
house  with  so  much  mirth  and  revelry — ^a  horse's  head  with  a  man 
concealed  under  it — was  a  direct*  representative  of  the  animal  on 
which  the  *^Mary"  of  olden  time  made  a  tour  of  the  parish  upon? 
Adopt   this   view,  and   the  name  ''Mary"   appears  as  a  natural 
heritage  which  clung  to  the  fragmentary  part  of  the  paraphernalia 
of  the  old  festival  which  descended  to  our  own  time.      As  the 
"Festival  of  the  Ass"  was  very  commonly  observed  in  pre-Beforma- 
tion  times,  we  might  expect  to  find  that  traces  of  it  remained  to  a 
late  period  in  other  parts  of  the  kingdom  besides  Glamorganshire. 
i  have  discovered  that  it  was  not  unknown  in  Monmouthshire; 
that,  however,  is  very  near  our  own  borders.     But  there  are  evi- 
dences  of  somewhat  similar  "survivals"  in  places  as  remote  as 
Lancashire  on  the  one  hand,  and  Kent  on  the  other.     In  Lanca- 
shire they  amused  themselves  on  Twelfth  Night  by  carfying  round 
the  semblance  of  a  horse's  head ;  while  in  Kent  they  still,  I  believe, 
"go  a  hodening"  on  this  night,  the  "hoden"  being  a  horse's  head 
carved  in  wood,  which  is  carried  about  to  the  accompaniment  of 
carol  singing  and  hand- bell  ringing. 

Objection  may  perhaps  be  taken  to  the  solution  here  offered  on 
the  ground  that  the  day  of  the  celebration  of  the  "  Festival  of  the 
Ass"  did  not  coincide  with  the  "Festival  of  the  Epiphany";  that 
the  two  observances  were  distinct,  and  were  never  likely  to  be  com- 
mingled. Whether  there  is  a  lack  of  likelihood  in  this  or  not,  I 
have,  1  think,  shown  pretty  plainly  that  the  Twelfth  Night  customs 
of  Glamorganshire  were  of  a  twofold  character,  certainly  of  a  two- 
fold origin,  and  were  partially,  at  least,  commingled.  We  must 
remember  that  in  pre- Reformation  times  the  festivities  of  the  Christ- 
mas season  were  kept  up  until  Candlemas.  After  the  Reformation 
the  natural  tendency  of  the  times  was  to  shorten  them.  Herrick, 
however,  gives  us  to  understand  that  in  his  time  the  Christmas 
decorations  were  kept  up  until  the  Feast  of  the  Punfication.  The 
Puritans,  as  we  know,  did  what  they  could  to  abolish  Christmas 
revellings  altogether.  They  were  powerless  to  do  this,  from  the 
hold  which  these  had  upon  the  minds  and  affections  of  the  people. 
But  they  accomplished  two  things :  (1)  they  shortened  the  dura- 
tion of  the  period  of  licence  and  buffoonery  ;  and,  as  a  natural  con- 


394  CAMBRIAN  ARCHiEOLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

sequence,  they  (2)  displaced  and  threw  into  some  confusion  the 
several  popnlar  observances  which  had  served  to  mark  the  pro- 
longed course  of  the  festival.  The  procession  of  the  **  Blessed 
Mary"  was  of  too  popular  a  character  to  be  thrown  aside  altogether ; 
rather,  therefore,  than  lose  it,  the  day  of  its  celebration  was  thrown 
back  by  popular  consent  ten  days  in  the  calendar,  and  was  held  on 
(and  after)  the  Gth  of  January,  instead  of  the  1 6th,  and  was  allowed 
to  share  the  honours  of  Twelfth  Night  rejoicings  with  the  "  Gwas- 
saila". 

Of  wassailing  itself  much  might  be  said,  both  as  to  the  mode 
in  which  the  custom  was  observed  in  Wales,  and  also  under  the 
wider  view  of  its  observance  throughout  the  country.  This,  how- 
ever, I  will  not  tonch  upon.  It  will  be  sufficient  to  say  that  there 
are  several  Welsh  wassailing  songs  in  existence.  Miss  Jane  Williams 
of  Aberpergwn  has  preserved  t wo»for  us  in  the  collection  of  A  ncient 
National  Airs  of  Gwent  and  Morganwg,  published  at  Landovery  in 
1843,  namely,  "  Y  VVashael",  at  p.  30,  and  "Hyd  yma  Bu'n  cerdded", 
at  p.  31.  Hone,  too,  in  his  Ancient  Mysteries  Explained^  gives  the 
translation  of  a  very  curious  one  by  "Thomas  Evans",  which  is 
well  worth  study  for  the  allusions  it  contains,  and  which  I-  else- 
where have  attempted  to  analyse.  These  are  in  print,  and  accessible 
to  all.  The  inquirer  who  wishes  to  pursue  the  subject  further  will, 
if  he  is  industrious,  find  several  more  in  manuscript. 

I  ought,  perhaps,  to  add  that  since  the  meeting  at  Cowbridge  I 
have  been  shown  a  Welsh  essay  upon  the  "Mari  Lwyd",  but  was 
not  able  to  do  more  than  glance  at  it.  I  regret  to  say  that  1  did 
not  note,  and  do  not  remember,  the  author*s  name.  It  would  seem  to 
have  been  published  about  1882.  The  wassailing  song  contained 
several  more  verses  than  I  have  g^ven  ;  but  the  greater  part  were 
quite  new  to  me,  and  1  venture  to  think  would  not  be  generally 
known  in  Glamorganshire. 


EXCURSION,   WEDNESDAY,    AUGUST    15th. 

Leaving  the  Bear  Hotel  at  9.30  a.m.,  the  carriages  started  on  the 
Bridgend  road  up  the  steep  hill  on  the  west  side  of  Cowbridge. 
When  the  top  was  reached,  the  straightness  of  the  road  became 
very  apparent,  looking  both  backwards  towards  the  clump  of  trees 
on  Stalling  Down,  and  forwards  in  the  direction  of  Ewenny. 
There  seems  to  be  little  doubt  that  this  is  the  line  of  the  old 
Roman  military  road  to  Bovium,  the  site  of  which  has  been  con- 
jectured to  be  at  Ewenny.  The  fact  of  the  existence  of  a  place 
called  Broth  Street,  near  Ewenny,  points  to  a  Roman  road  of  some 
tind  having  passed  by  it.  Halfway  between  Cowbridge  and 
Ewenny  the  road  passes  over  what  was  formerly  a  bleak  moor,  but 
which  is  now  enclosed  and  cultivated.     This  portion  of  the  road  is 


COWBRIDGE  MEETING. — RETORT.  395 

called  by  the  somewhat  poetical  name  of  the  Golden  Mile,^  aod  it 
was  not  far  from  here  that  a  large  number  of  ancient  British  nms 
were  dug  np  in  the  Twmpath  barrow  on  Pwll-y-rack  farm,  a  full 
description  of  the  discoveries,  by  Mr.  F.  G.  Hilton  Price,  having 
been  recently  published  in  the  Archceologia  Gamhrensie  (vol.  v, 
Ser.  5,  p.  83).  Passing  by  Ewenny,  to  return  there  later,  the  first 
halting-place  was  St.  Bride's,  eight  miles  distant  from  Gowbridge. 
The  last  mile  of  the  road  passed  through  a  deep  ravine,  with 
mountain  limestone  cliffs  peeping  out  here  and  there  from  between 
a  covering  of  greensward  varied  with  patches  of  bracken  fern. 
The  scenery  in  this  secluded  valley  is  entirely  different  from  the 
views  in  other  parts  of  Glamorganshire,  where  the  geological 
formation  is  lias,  and  is  far  more  like  the  wild  landscapes  of 
Cumberland  or  Derbyshire.  St.  Bride's  Church  is  picturesquely 
situated  at  the  upper  end  of  the  valley,  perched  on  the  hill-side. 

St.  Bride's  Church. — The  church  here  is  dedicated  to  St.  Bride 
or  Bridget,  and  is  called  St.  Bride's  Major.  St.  Bride's  Minor  is 
situated  nearly  as  far  north  of  Bridgend  as  St.  Bride's  Major  is 
south  of  the  same  place.  It  was  visited  by  the  Cambrian  Archsdo- 
logical  Association  during  the  Bridgend  Meeting  in  1869.  The 
building,  although  not  a  large  one,  is  fall  of  points  of  interest 

The  plan  consists  of  a  nave,  chancel,  west  tower,  north  porch, 
and  a  small  vestry  on  the  north  side  of  the  chancel.  The  chancel- 
arch  is  a  remarkable  one.  It  is  round  and  of  Norman  date,  with  a 
simply-moulded  abacus.  Most  of  the  rest  of  the  architectural  fea- 
tures are  Decorated.     The  tower  has  the  usual  local  characteristics. 

On  each  side  of  the  chancel-arch  are  two  large  squints  cut 
through  the  wall  at  a  late  period,  and  on  the  north  side  is,  in 
addition,  a  third  squint  of  much  smaller  dimensions  than  the 
others.  The  font  has  an  octagonal  bowl  on  an  octagonal  stem.^ 
The  most  noteworthy  amongst  the  sepulchral  monuments  are  the 
inscribed  coffin-lid  of  Johan  le  Botiler,  and  an  altar- tomb  belong- 
ing to  the  sa^ae  family.  The  coffin- lid  is  at  present  in  the  floor  of 
the  chancel,  but  is  partially  concealed  from  view  by  some  ricketty 
boarding  placed  upon  the  top  of  it,  which  should  be  removed.  The 
stone  coffin  belonging  to  it  is  still  in  the  churchyard,  on  the  south 
side  of  the  tower,  and  might  well  be  taken  inside  the  building  and 
the  lid  restored  to  it.  The  top  of  the  lid  is  flat,  with  the  figure  of 
a  Crusader  in  chain-armour  incised  upon  it,  and  the  sides  bevelled, 
bearing  the  following  inscription  in  Lombardic  capital  letters  of  the 
thirteenth  century : — 

lOHAN   I    LE    :    BOTILEB   •    GIT    •    ICI    i    DEU    •    DE    .• 
SA   i    ALME    :    EIT   j    MEBCI    •    AMEN. 

^  Several  stories  are  given  to  account  for  the  name,  the  most  probable 
being  that  it  was  suggested  by  the  golden  yellow  flowers  of  the  gorse. 

2  By  some  mistake  the  font  at  St.  Bride's  is  describtd  in  the  Report  of 
the  Bridgend  Meeting  in  the  Arch,  Camb.,  3rd  Ser.,  vol.  xv,  p.  434.  as  being 
Norman,  and  similar  to  the  one  at  Llantwit. 


396         CAMBRIAN  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

The  knight  holds  a  drawn  sword  in  his  right  hand,  and  has  a 
shield  over  the  left  shoulder  with  the  three  covered  cnps  of  Boteler. 
On  his  head  is  a  skull-cap  of  plate-armour  with  a  fleur-de-lys  in  the 
centre  and  a  covered  cup  on  each  side.  This  incised  e^gy  is  in 
very  perfect  preservation,  and  is  a  valuable  example  of  the  military 
costume  of  the  thirteenth  century.  It  has  been  engraved  in  Dr. 
E.  L.  Cutts'  Sepulchral  Slabs  (pi.  xxxii*),  and  in  the  Journal  of  the 
British  Archasological  Institute.  The  altar-tomb  is  placed  in  a  recess 
in  the  wall  with  a  window  behind  it.  Over  the  top  of  the  recess 
there  is  a  canopy,  in  a  somewhat' dilapidated  condition,  and  the  arms 
of  the  Butlers.  On  the  tomb  rest  the  recumbent  ejfigies  of  a  knight 
in  plate-armour,  and  his  lady  beside  him.  (See  Plate  from  photo- 
graph by  Mr.  Banks.) 

On  a  monument,  underneath  a  semi- classical  canopy,  are  two 
half-length  painted  figures  facing  each  other,  the  husband  in  his 
wig  and  gown,  and  the  wife  in  the  dress  of  the  period.  The 
inscription  is  as  follows : — 

"  In  memory  of  John  Wyndham,  Esq., 

Sergt.  at  Law,  and  Jane  his  wife 

was  of  the  antient  was  the  daughter 

family  of  the  of  William  Strode 

Wyndhams,  and  of  Barrington  in 

heir  of  Humphrey  the  county  of 

Wyndham,  Esq.,  and  Somerset,  Esq.     She 

Jone,  the  daughter  of  departed  this  life 

Sir  John  Came  of  1  Dec,  in  64th  year 

Ewenne.     He  departed  of  her  age,  and 
this  life,  4  Oct.,  in  the  in  1698." 

67,year  of  his  age,  in 
the  year  1697. 

The  churchyard  cross  is  of  the  same  type  as  the  others  in 
Glamorganshire.  The  socket-stone  rests  on  five  steps,  and  the 
cross  is  perfect,  with  the  exception  of  the  head,  w^iich  is  gone. 
The  base  of  another  cross  lies  about  500  yards  to  the  north-west  of 
the  church. 

St.  Bride's  Major  was  associated  in  more  recent  times  with 
General  Picton,  of  Waterloo  fame. 

The  party,  after  having  inspected  St.  Bride's  Church,  retraced 
their  way  through  the  same  rocky  limestone  gorge  they  had  already 
traversed  coming,  back  to  Ewenny  Priory-,  which  lies  a  little  over  a 
mile  south  of  Bridgend,  on  the  bank  of  a  small  river  that  joins  the 
Ogmore  lower  down. 

Ewenny  Priory, — The  last  visit  made  to  Ewenny  by  the  Associsi- 
tion  was  during  the  Bridgend  Meeting,  when  the  architectural 
peculiarities  of  the  church  were  explained  by  Mr.  E.  A.  Freeman. 
Upon  the  present  occasion  Colonel  Picton  Turbervill,  the  lay  suc- 
cessor of  the  ancient  Priors,  received  the  members  and  conducted 
them  round  the  building.  In  order  that  the  party  might  not  be 
wholly  unprepared  for  what  they  were  going  to  see.  Colonel  Tur- 


COWBRIDGE  MEETING. — REPORT.  397 

bervill  had  with  great  kindness  and  forethonght  ordered  Mr.  E.  A. 
Freeman's  paper  on  the  Churches  of  Coychurch,  Coyfcy,  and  Ewenny, 
and  Mr.  G.  T.  Clark's  paper  on  Coyty  Castle,  to  be  reprinted  from  the 
ArchcBologia  Cambrerms  in  pamphlet  form  for  distribution  amongst 
the  members,  to  whom  it  proved  of  much  service.  The  idea  of  re- 
printing papers  on  the  objects  of  interest  visited  during  the  annual 
meetings  is  so  good  a  one  that,  now  Colonel  Turbervill  has  in- 
augurated the  practice,  it  may  with  advantage  be  continaed  in 
years  to  come.  The  alterations  and  discoveries  made  at  Ewenny 
since  Mr.  Freeman's  account  was  written  in  1857  have  been  sum- 
marised in  a  paper  by  Colonel  Turbervill  contributed  to  the  Tirana- 
actions  of  the  Cardiff  Naturalists*  Field  Club  (vol.  viii,  1876,  p.  41), 
as  follows:  1.  Arched  doorways  into  chapels  from  south  and  north 
aisles  of  presbytery;  2.  East  window  of  presbytery  opened;  3. 
Hagioscope  in  north  wall  of  presbytery  discovered  and  opened ;  4. 
Double  piscina  found  in  north  wall ;  5.  Foundations  of  chapels  on 
north  side  of  presbytery  laid  bare.  It  would  be  desirable  to  have 
a  new  plan  prepared  showing  these  more  recent  discoveries. 

The  church  at  Ewenny  belongs  to  the  same  class  as  those  at 
Brecon,  Monkton,  Ruthin,  and  elsewhere,  which  are  both  parochial 
and  monastic,  the  parish  church  and  the  church  of  the  monastery 
being  combined  in  one  and  the  same  building.  The  strongly- 
marked  military  peculiarities  of  the  architecture  indicate  that  it 
was  intended  also  to  serve  the  double  purpose  of  a  place  of  worship 
and  a  fortified  castle  in  case  of  sudden  attack.  Portions  of  the 
church  have  been  destroyed,  but  what  remains  has  undergone 
hardly  any  modification  since  it  was  erected  in  the  twelfth  century. 
Consequently,  we  have  at  Ewenny  the  most  perfect  specimen  of  an 
early  Norman  semi-ecclesiastical  semi-defensive  structure  to  be  found 
throughout  the  Principality.  A  building  of  some  kind  seems  to 
have  been  erected  at  Ewenny  by  William  de  Londres,  one  of  the 
followers  of  Fitzhamon ;  and  the  present  Benedictine  Priory  was 
founded  in  a.d.  1141  by  his  grandson,  Morice  de  Londres,  by 
whom  it  was  added  as  a  cell  to  the  Abbey  of  St.  Peter,  at 
Gloucester.  At  the  dissolution  of  the  monasteries,  the  property 
passed  out  of  the  possession  of  the  Church  into  that  of  the  Carne 
family,  and  subsequently  into  that  of  Turbervill,  by  marriage. 
Ewenny  Priory  is  dedicated  to  St.  Michael.  Hardly  anything 
remains  of  the  conventual  buildings  except  the  gateway,  all  the 
rest  having  apparently  been  pulled  down  to  obtain  materials  for  the 
adjoining  mansion,  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century.  E. 
Donovan,  in  his  South  Wales  (1805),  describes  the  state  of  the 
church  as  being  very  disgraceful  when  he  saw  it ;  but  now  Colonel 
Turbervill  has  fully  atoned  for  the  neglect  of  his  ancestors  in  the 
past  by  the  great  care  which  he  has  bestowed  for  many  years  upon 
repairing  and  beautifying  the  building.  The  ground  plan  was 
originally  cruciform,  with  a  central  tower  of  hugely  massive  pro- 
portions. At  present  it  consists  of  the  nave,  used  as  tlie  parish 
church,  with  a  porch  on  the  north  side,  and  the  choir,  south  tran- 


398  CAMBRIAN  ARCH^OLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

sept,  and  presbytery  of  the  old  monastic  chnrch.  The  north  aisle 
of  the  nave,  the  north  transept,  and  chapels  on  the  north  and  south 
side  of  the  presbytery  have  been  destroyed.  The  parochial  and 
monastic  churches  are  separated  by  a  wall  blocking  up  the  whole 
of  the  western  arch  under  the  central  tower.  This  masonry  screen 
formed  the  reredos  of  the  altar  of  the  parish  church,  and  has  a 
doorway  on  each  side,  by  which  access  is  obtained  to  the  choir. 
The  division  of  the  church  into  two  parts  did  not  take  place  at  the 
dissolution,  but  was  the  arrangement  from  the  beginning. 

The  style  of  most  of  the  architectural  details  is  early  iN'orman. 
The  massive  round  piers  and  arches  on  the  north  side  of  the  nave 
still  exist,  and  are  not  unlike  those  at  St.  John's  Church,  Chester. 
The  arches  under  the  lantern  of  the  tower  are  round,  with  two 
orders  of  moulding  perfectly  plain  and  square.  The  roof  of  the 
presbytery  is  a  very  bold  piece  of  stone  vaulting,  and  of  much 
greater  span  than  is  usual  in  Bomanesqae  buildings.  It  is  divided 
into  three  bays,  the  easternmost  being  covered  with  groined  vault- 
ing, to  allow  of  the  insertion  of  windows  in  the  north  and  south 
walls,  and  the  other  two  bays  against  which  the  chapels  abut 
having  barrel- vaulting. 

With  regard  to  the  gloomy  appearance  produced  by  the  small 
number  of  windows,  Mr.  Freeman  remarks,  "All  is  dark,  solemn, 
almost  cavernous ;  it  is,  indeed,  a  shrine  for  men  who  doubtless 
performed  their  most  solemn  rites  with  fear  and  trembling,  amid 
constant  expectation  of  hostile  inroads."  The  south  transept  has 
a  timber  roof  of  poor  design,  but  this  is  to  a  certain  extent  atoned 
for  by  the  variety  produced  in  the  wall-surface  by  the  arcading, 
resembling  that  of  the  triforium  of  a  cathedral,  whicb  lights  the 
passage  leading  up  to  the  tower.  The  excellent  photograph  taken 
by  Mr.  Banks  shows  the  gable  of  the  south  transept  with  the  mili- 
tary tower  rising  above  it.  The  triple  stepping  of  the  battlements 
of  the  tower  deserves  notice  as  being  a  rare  feature  in  Wales, 
although  common  enough  in  Ireland  and  East  Anglia.  There  are 
two  fine  round-headed  Norman  doorways  at  Ewenny.  Amongst 
the  ecclesiological  features  are  a  fourteenth  century  oak  rood-screen 
separating  the  presbytery  from  the  choir,  a  hagioscope,  and  a 
double  piscina.  The  font  at  the  west  end  of  the  parish  church 
is  bowl-shaped,  with  mouldings  at  the  top,  bottom,  and  round 
the  middle.  It  is  of  Sutton  stone,  and  probably  of  Norman  date, 
but  its  appearance  has  been  entirely  changed  by  being  placed  on 
a  modern  stem  instead  of  resting  on  a  step,  as  it  probably  did 
originally. 

There  are  several  interesting  thirteenth  century  sepulchral  slabs 
at  Ewenny,  the  best  of  all  being  the  tomb  of  Morice  de  Londres,  a 
splendidly  carved  slab  with  a  floriated  cross  on  the  top,  inscribed  on 
each  side  in  Lombardic  capitals:  ici  gist  mobice  de  londres 
FONDEUR  i  DIEU  LUi  REND  SON  LABEUR  :  AMEN.  A  beautiful  border 
of  Early  English  foliage,  of  the  same  kind  as  thatt  on  the  Tree  of 
Jesse  at  Llantwit  Major,  runs  the  whole  way  round  the  bevelled 


COWBRIDGE  MEETING. — REPORT.  399 

edge.  The  slab  has  been  inaccurately  engraved,  both  in  Sir  R.  Colt 
Hoare's  Itinerary  of  Baldwin,  and  Dr.  E.  L.  Cutts'  Sepulchral  Slabs, 
the  foliage  being  most  carelessly  drawn.  An  illustration  is  now 
given,  taken  from  a  rubbing  photographed  on  to  the  wood-block  by 
Mr.  Worthington  G.  Smith. 

Outside  the  church  is  a  cross  slab  inscribed — 

+    HIC   lACET  .  .  .  DB   LON(dBEs), 

This  might  with  advantage  be  placed  under  cover  within  the  pres- 
bytery. There  is  also  the  recumbent  eflBgy  of  a  knight,  which  has 
been  conjectured  by  some  to  be  the  monumeut  of  Sir  Paganus 
Tnrbei'vill,  and  by  others  to  be  that  of  Sir  Roger  de  Remi. 


Ewenny  Effigy.    Half -inch  Scale. 

Having  thanked  Colonel  Turbervill  for  the  courtesy  shown  to  the 
Association,  the  party  left  for  Coity,  which  is  a  mile  and  a  half 
north-east  of  Bridgend,  and  about  three  mOes  from  Ewenny.  Here 
luncheon  was  provided  in  the  school-room,  and,  when  the  wants  of 
the  inner  man  had  been  attended  to,  an  adjournment  was  made  to 
the  church  and  Castle. 

Coity  Church  and  Castle. — The  architecture  of  Coity  Church  has 
been  done  full  justice  to  in  Mr.  E.  A.  Freeman's  paper  in  the  Archce- 
ologia  Camhrensis  (vol.  iii,  Ser.  3,  p.  101),  and  the  ritual  arrange- 
ments are  described  in  the  Ecclesiologist  (vol.  viii,  p.  251).  Both 
the  church  and  Castle  were  visited  duriug  the  Bridgend  Meeting. 
At  Ewenny  we  had  an  instance  of  an  almost  unaltered  cruciform 
church  of  the  Norman  period ;  at  Coity  we  see  a.  structure  designed 
on  the  same  lines  by  an  architect  of  the  fourteenth  century.  Dr. 
Freeman  says  :  ^'  On  the  whole  this  church  is  an  excellent  one,  and 
in  fair  preservation ;  but  few  of  the  windows  have  been  robbed  of 
their  tracery,  nor  has  any  special  devastation  of  any  other  kind 
been  perpetrated.  It  has  but  little  ornamental  detail,  but  its  pic- 
turesque outline  and  its  fine  series  of  windows  would  attract  notice 
anywhere ;  and  as  a  thoroughly  Welsh  church,  exhibiting  the  local 
half- military  type  on  a  larger  scale  and  wrought  with  more  finished 
workmanship,  it  ranks  especially  high.  It  is,  however,  decidedly 
outshone  by  its  neighbour  (Coychurch),  which  I  have  next  to 
describe." 

Before  entering  the  sacred  edifice  we  pass  a  fine  old  yew-tree, 
casting  its  deep  shadows  athwart  the  path,  and,  glancing  up  at  the 


400         CAMBRIAN  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

tower,  the  extraordinarily  qaaint  gargoyles  are  seen  standing  ont 
against  the  bine  sky,  long-jawed  beasts,  armed  with  rows  of  teeth 
like  those  of  a  crocodile.  Inside  the  church  is  preserved  a  cnrions 
oak-chest,  apparently  constructed  out  of  old  materials  intended  for 
some  other  purpose.  Mr.  Banks'  photograph  shows  its  form  and 
the  style  of  the  carved  decoration,  which  consists  of  flamboyant 
tracery,  together  with  four  panels,  enclosing  the  following  emblems 
of  the  Passion :  1 .  Cross  with  crown  of  thorns  ;  ladder  and  spear ; 
three  boxes  of  ointment  carried  by  "  les  trois  Myrrhophores'*.  2. 
Cross,  with  five  wounds  in  hands,  feet,  and  heart.  3.  Pillar 
against  which  Christ  was  bound  during  scourging;  cock  of  St. 
Peter;  bag  containing  thirty  pieces  of  silver.  4  Three  nails  on 
shield ;  spear  and  sponge  ;  scourge ;  hammer  and  pincers. 

There  are  two  effigies  in  the  north  transept,  one  that  of  a  female 
in  flowing  robes,  with  hair  banded  and  hands  folded  in  prayer, 
inscribed  in  Lombardic  capitals — 

...DE   PAYN   TUBBB   VILLE    QIT   ICI 
DEU   DE    LALME   £1... 

and  the  other  that  of  a  child.  The  communion-plate  is  Elizabethan 
in  style,  but  is  dated  1633.  There  are  six  bells,  recast  one  hun- 
dred years  ago.  The  registers  begin  from  1720.  The  old  font  is 
left  out  in  the  churchyard  :  it  should  certainly  be  taken  more  care 
of,  as  neglect  of  this  kind  does  not  redound  to  the  credit  of  the 
Church . 

The  following  singular  epitaph  on  an  old  woman  of  eighty-five, 
killed  by  lightning  in  the  last  century,  is  remarkable  for  its  ortho- 
graphy, and  affords  a  proof  that  the  terror  of  this  kind  of  death  in 
the  popular  mind  lies  more  in  the  noise  of  the  thunder  than  in  the 
actual  electrical  shock  : — 

'*  Awake  Dvll  Mortals  See  yr  Dubiovs  stay 
Frail  is  OVR  make  and  Life  soon  pasts  away 
Myriads  of  changes  take  away  OYIl  breth 
And  MvltefarioYs  ways  there  are  to  death 
Beneath  lies  one  esteemed  for  life  and  age 
By  Thvnder  forced  to  qvit  this  worldly  stage 
Tremendous  death  so  suddenly  to  be 
From  Life's  short  scene  moved  to  Eternity.'* 

Coity  Castle  has  been  described  by  Mr.  G.  T.  Clark  in  the  Archceo- 
logia  Camhrensis  (vol.  viii,  Ser.  4,  p.  1),  and  in  his  Mediaeval  Mili- 
tary Architecture  (vol.  i,  p.  487).  Coity  was  granted  by  Fitzhamon 
to  Sir  Pagan  de  Turberville,  and  the  present  Castle  was  in  all 
probability  built  by  his  great-grandson,  Gilbert  de  Turberville,  in 
1207.  The  land  on  which  the  Castle  stands  now  belongs  partly  to 
Lord  Dunraven  and  partly  to  the  Nicholls  of  Merthyr  Mawr.  The 
plan  consists  of  an  approximately  circular  inner  ward  48  yards  in 
diameter,  constituting  the  original  castle,  with  a  rectangular  outer 
ward  68  yards  long  by  43  yards  wide,  forming  a  sort  of  tail  added 
at  a  later  period,  the  whole  being  surrounded  by  a  ditch  100  ft. 


COWBRIDGE  MEETING. — REPORT.  401 

wide*  The  Castle  is  approached  from  the  churchyard  by  a  gate- 
way leading  to  the  inner  ward.  Another  gateway  leads  from  the 
inner  to  the  outer  ward,  and  there  is  a  third  gateway  at  the  far  end 
of  the  outer  ward.  The  keep  is  a  rectangular  structure  containing 
vaulted  chambers,  with  a  central  octagonal  pier  to  support  the 
roof.  The  hall,  chapel,  and  other  domestic  buildings  surround  a 
rectangular  coui*tyard  in  the  inner  ward.  The  round  tower,  seen 
on  the  outside,  is  a  peculiar  feature.  The  exterior  view  of  the 
Castle  is  rather  imposing,  though  inferior  to  many  of  the  Edwardian 
border  fortresses  in  general  grandeur  of  effect.  The  interior  is, 
however,  very  disappointing,  as  the  structure  is  a  mere  shell,  with 
few  architectural  details  remaining,  and  nothing  sufficiently  pictur- 
esque to  tempt  the  artist  to  bring  out  his  sketch-book. 

Prom  Coyty  the  party  proceeded  to  Coychurch,  a  mile  and  a 
half  distant  to  the  south-east,  and  lying  about  two  miles  and  a  half 
east  of  Bridgend. 

Coychurch  or  Eglwys  Llangrallo, — The  Rev.  C.  LI.  Llewellin, 
Rector  of  Coychurch,  having  received  the  members,  conducted 
them  to  the  church,  and  then  delivered  the  following  address : — 

"  Knowing  your  time  to  be  limited,  I  propose  to  point  out  the 
details  that  appear  most  worthy  of  notice,  and  leave  you  to  form 
your  own  opinion  as  to  the  general  effect  of  the  whole.  The  fabric 
has  not  undergone  any  material  change  during  its  restoration  in 
1870.  In  this  instance  the  architect  and  archsBologist  worked 
together  in  unity,  Mr.  John  Pritchard  having  faithfully  carried  out 
the  suggestions  made  by  Mr.  E.  A.  Freeman,  in  his  paper  written 
on  the  church  in  1857.  In  roofing  over  the  chancel  and  transepts 
the  architect  departed  from  the  model  before  him  in  the  old  roof  of 
the  nave.  Whether  the  new  roofs  he  has  introduced  are  consistent 
with  the  style  of  the  rest  of  the  building  it  is  not  for  me  to  judge ; 
still  they  remain  as  records  of  his  great  artistic  taste.  The  ancient 
oak  cradle-roof  of  the  nave  has  been  preserved,  but  the  old  plaster 
ceiling  removed.  All  worm-eaten  and  decayed  wood  has  been  re- 
placed by  sound  material,  so  that  in  all  human  probability  the  roof 
will  now  endure  for  centuries  to  come.  Along  the  top  of  the  wall 
runs  an  oak  cornice,  principally  old  work,  and  only  repaired  in 
places,  where  required.  Fixed  against  the  cornice  on  each  side  are 
ten  figures  of  angels  bearing  shields,  exquisitely  carved.  Most  of 
the  shields  are  plain,  but  one  has  on  it  the  arms  of  the  Turber- 
villes,  another  the  arms  of  the  owners  of  Margam,  and  a  third  our 
Lord's  five  wounds  in  the  hands,  feet,  and  heart. 

"  The  west  front  of  the  exterior,  with  its  unique  quatrefoil  win- 
dows, is  well  worthy  of  your  notice.  When  the  church  was 
restored  in  1870  the  tower  was  left  undone,  partly  in  consequence 
of  lack  of  funds,  and  partly  because  of  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to 
the  proper  mode  of  treating  it,  and  also  because  at  that  time  there 
were  no  indications  of  its  being  in  danger  of  falling.  On  the  7th 
of  February  1877,  the  tower  suddenly  fell,  crushing  the  south 
transept  and  greatly  injuring  the  north  transept  and  chancel,  the 


402         CAMBRIAN  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

nave  escaping  with  comparatively  little  damage.  After  the  fall  of 
the  tower  the  east  end  of  the  nave  was  tempoiurilj  walled  up,  so 
that  it  might  be  nsed  for  Divine  Service.  The  church  remained  in 
this  state  for  about  ten  years ;  but  its  restoration,  under  the  super- 
vision of  Mr.  F.  R.  Kempson,  was  completed  in  1888.  Before  the 
destruction  of  the  chancel  it  contained  two  frescoes,  on  the  jamb  of 
one  of  the  windows  in  the  east  wall,  representing  mitred  ecclesi- 
astics with  keys  hanging  at  their  girdles.^  There  was  also  a 
piscina  and  the  remains  of  a  small  altar.  The  old  rood-loft  was  for 
some  reason  transferred  to  the  chancel  and  used  to  form  the  ceil- 
ing, of  which  Dr.  Freeman  complains  as  hiding  the  upper  part  of 
the  east  window.  It  was  similar  in  design  to  the  lantern  roof  of 
the  tower,  having  panels  covered  with  the  linen  pattern.  The 
panels  of  the  reading-desk,  mentioned  in  Mr.  Freeman's  paper, 
were  of  similar  design ;  but  both  this  and  the  rood-screen  were  too 
decayed  to  be  preserved.  In  the  chancel  was  an  altar-stone  7  ft. 
long  by  4  ft.  wide,  with  the  usual  five  crosses.  There  were  also 
two  ancient  monaments,  now  removed  to  the  north  transept,  and 
the  tombstone  of  Thomas  and  Barbara  Fleming,  with  two  small 
feet  carved  in  relief  at  one  end.  The  gargoyles  of  the  new  tower 
are  old,  except  one,  which  is  a  facsimile  of  the  one  that  was  par- 
tially broken  when  this  part  of  the  building  felL  The  stones  of  the 
walls  destroyed  by  the  fall  of  the  tower  were  exceedingly  small, 
hardly  any  being  more  than  8  in.  long,  and  the  majority  not  more 
than  4  in.  long. 

"  The  crosses  in  the  churchyard  are  sadly  in  need  of  restoration, 
more  especially  that  supposed  by  some  to  be  the  cross  of  the 
founder,  St.  Crallo,  which  was  broken  when  the  tower  fell.  Most 
of  the  fragments  have,  however,  been  carefully  preserved ;  and,  by 
the  assistance  of  a  drawing  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  F.  R.  Kemp- 
son  showing  its  state  when  perfect,  it  might  without  much  diffi- 
culty be  again  set  up.  Any  help  towards  the  repair  of  these  most 
interesting  inscribed  monuments  will  be  thankfully  accepted." 

Coychurch  is  cruciform  in  plan,  and  is  a  finer  and  rather  earlier 
specimen  of  the  same  type  as  Coity  Church.  The  chief  difference 
between  the  design  of  the  two  is  that  Coychurch  has  side  aisles  te 
the  nave,  whereas  at  Coity  there  are  none.  Mr.  Freeman  speaks 
of  Coychurch  as  having  "  a  real  west  front,  simple,  indeed,  and  un- 
omamented,  but  of  admirable  composition,  and  quite  satisfactory 
detaU". 

Amongst  the  sepulchral  monuments  inside  Coychurch  is  one 
of  the  Elizabethan  period,  in  the  north  transept,  inscribed  in  capi- 
tals, "  +  Here  lieth  in  grave  the  body  of  Thomas  Ivans,  Clerk,  Par- 
son of  Coychurch,  deceased  the  2  day  of  April,  1591." 

There  are  two  monuments  in  the  churchyard  with  minuscule 
inscriptions  and  Hiberno-Saxon  ornament  like  that  on  the  Llantwit 

^  A  bronze  key  resembling  those  on  the  frescoes  was  picked  up  some  time 
ago,  but  it  is  now  lost. 


COWBRIDGE   MEETING. — REPORT.  403 

Major  stones.  Both  are  illustrat'ed  in  Professor  I.  O.  Westwood's 
Lapidanum  Wallice  (plates  22  and  23).  The  inscriptions  are  very 
much  weathered,  hut  the  name  "  Ebisor*',  which  also  occurs  on  the 
cross  of  Samson  at  Llantwit  Major,  can  be  read  on  both.  One,  a  cross- 
shaft,  abont  4  ft.  6  in.  high,  and  2  ft.  broad  by  1  ft.  2  in.  thick,  stands 
at  the  east  end  of  the  chancel,  outside.  The  other,  which  was  muti- 
lated by  the  fall  of  the  tower,  stood  on  the  west  side  of  the  south 
transept.  The  base  is  still  in  situ,  but  the  shaft  was  broken  short  off, 
and  is  placed  npright  against  the  south  wall  of  the  nave.  The 
fragments  of  the  head  are  put  together  on  a  flat  tombstone.  It  is 
earnestly  to  be  hoped  that  funds  will  be  forthcoming  for  its  restora- 
tion. In  addition  to  these  early  crosses  there  are  the  shaft  and 
steps  forming  the  base  of  a  fourteenth  century  churchyard  cross. 
The  communion-plate  is  inscribed — 

Ed.  Gumage,  A.M.,  Rector. 
Jen.  Dd.  Yorath. 


Llewelin  William,  7  ivr    j 
Thomas  William.  5  ^"'*®''«- 


Llangan,  two  miles  south-east  of  Coychurch,  was  the  last  place 
visited ;  but  some  of  the  party  walked  up  to  St.  Mary  Hill,  rejoin- 
ing the  rest  at  Llangan,  and  were  not  by  any  means  sorry  to  find 
afternoon  tea  being  most  hospitably  dispensed  by  Mrs.  Humphreys 
in  front  of  the  Rectory. 

St,  Mary  Hill  Church, — The  name  of  the  church  indicates  its 
lofly  situation.  The  hill  on  which  it  is  placed  overlooks  the  valley 
of  the  Ewenny  river.  Behind  is  a  wild  down  covered  with  sand- 
stone boulders,  the  scene  of  fairs  in  modern  times,  and  perhaps  of 
Drnidic  ceremonies  far  back  in  the  past.  At  all  events,  if  the 
Druids  did  not  avail  themselves  of  the  natural  advantages  of  the 
place  for  rites  such  as  theirs  are  supposed  to  have  been,  an  oppor- 
tunity was  certainly  missed.  The  church  is  a  small  building  con- 
sisting of  a  nave  and  chancel.  It  has  been  well  restored,  except 
that  the  chancel-arch,  a  plain  round  Norman  one,  has  been  removed 
bodily  and  built  into  the  north  wall  of  the  nave.  The  font  is  cup- 
shaped,  with  a  bold  roll-moulding  round  the  top,  probably  Norman. 

The  most  interesting  object  at  St.  Mary  Hill  is  the  churchyard 
cross,  which  was  restored  as  a  Jubilee  memorial  by  the  liberality  of 
T.  M.  Franklen,  Esq.,  of  St.  Hilary.  The  head,  which  is  usually 
wanting  in  other  places,  is  old,  and  also  the  steps.  The  socket-stone 
and  shaft  are  new.  The  head  is  canopied,  like  those  of  the  crosses 
at  St.  Donat's  and  Llangan.  The  two  broad  faces  have  double 
canopies  with  figures  of  saints,  and  the  two  narrow  faces  a  single 
canopy  with  the  Crucifixion  on  one  side,  and  the  Virgin  and  Child 
on  the  other. 

Llangan  Church. — There  are  no  special  features  of  interest  in 
the  church  itself,  but  the  two  crosses  in  the  churchyard  are  well 
worth  going  many  miles  to  see.  The  oldest  of  the  two  stands  near 
the  west  end  of  the  church.     It  is  a  wheel  cross,  with  a  round  head 

5th   8£tt.,  VOL.  V.  28 


404         CAMBRIAN  ARCHiEOLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

3  fb.  4  in.  in  diameter,  and  a  very  Btnmpy  shaft,  1  ft  bigh,  and 
1  ft.  8  in.  wide  by  8  in.  thick.  On  the  front  is  the  Crucifixion, 
having  the  soldier  holding  the  spear  on  one  side,  and  the  soldier  with 
the  sponge  on  the  other.  Below,  on  the  shaft,  is  a  man  holding  a  horn 
in  his  left  hand.  This  is  the  nsual  early  Irish  type  of  Crucifixion,  copied 
from  a  Byzantine  source.  It  difiers  from  the  later  representations 
of  the  same  subject  in  the  fact  that  the  Saviour  is  not  dead,  as 
was  always  the  case  after  the  twelfth  century.  When  the  Saviour 
is  intended  to  be  shown  alive,  the  eyes  are  open  and  the  limbs 
extended  straight  along  the  arms  of  the  cross  instead  of  being  bent. 
On  the  back  is  a  plain  cross  with  four  circular  bosses  in  the  angles. 
This  stone  has  been  illustrated  by  Professor  I.  O.  Westwood  in  his 
Lapidarium  WallicB  (pi.  25,  figs.  1  and  2),  and  in  J.  R.  Allen's 
Christian  Symbolism  (p.  163),  where  other  examples  of  early  Celtic 
crucifixions  are  given  for  comparison.  The  date  of  the  Llangan 
stone  is  possibly  eighth  or  ninth  century.  It  is  the  only  speci- 
men of  a  Crucifixion  of  this  early  period  in  Wales,  except  the  one 
upon  a  slab  at  Meifod,  in  Montgomeryshire  (Arch,  Camb.,  vol.  xi, 
Ser.  lY,  p.  1 83).  The  other  cross  at  Llangan  stands  on  the  south  side 
of  the  church.  It  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  perfect  four- 
teenth century  churchyard  crosses  in  existence,  the  only  other  one 
at  all  to  be  compared  with  it  in  South  Wales  being  at  St.  Donat's. 
At  nearly  all  the  other  churches  visited,  the  steps  surmounted  by 
the  socket-stone,  and  in  some  cases  the  shaft,  are  to  be  seen ;  but 
complete  heads  occur  only  at  Llangan,  St.  Donat's,  and  St.  Mary 
Hill.  At  Porthkcrry  a  portion  of  the  head  was  in  its  place,  until  it 
was  blown  down  in  a  storm  some  years  ago  (see  Arch,  Oamb.,  vol. 
vii,  Ser.  IV,  p.  46).  The  head  of  the  Llangan  cross  has  two  tiers 
of  figures  under  Decorated  canopies.  The  lower  part  is  rectangular 
in  plan,  like  the  one  at  St.  Mary  Hill,  having  two  broad  faces  and 
two  narrow  ones.  The  broad  faces  have  double  canopies,  with  the 
Crucifixion  on  one  side,  and  a  Pieta  on  the  other.  The  two  narrow 
faces  have  single  canopies,  with  figures  of  saints  or  ecclesiastics. 
The  upper  part  of  the  head  is  square  in  plan,  having  four  equal 
faces,  each  with  a  figure  of  a  saint  under  a  single  canopy.  Above 
the  upper  tier  of  sculptured  figures  there  appears  to  have  been  a 
small  spire  to  complete  the  design. 

Llangan  Church  is  dedicated  to  St.  Canna,  who  is  supposed  to 
have  been  the  wife  of  St.  Sadwm  (brother  of  St.  Iltutus),  and  the 
mother  of  St.  Crallo.  The  church  of  Llangan,  in  Caermarthenshire, 
is  dedicated  to  the  same  saint,  and  the  inscribed  chair  of  Canna  is 
still  preserved  there  (see  Jrch,  Camb.,  vol.  iii,  Ser.  IV,  p.  235,  and 
vol.  vi,  Ser.  IV,  p.  376).  She  is  believed  to  have  lived  a.d.  500  to  542. 

The  font  at  Llangan  has  a  round  bowl  with  eight  pointed  arches 
round  the  bottom.  It  is  difficult  to  assign  a  date,  but  it  is  cer- 
tainly not  Norman. 


COWBRIDGE    MEE5TING. REPORT.  405 


EVENING    MEETING,   WEDNESDAY,   AUGUST    15th. 

The  evening  meeting  was  held  in  the  Town  Hall  at  8.30  p.m., 
there  being,  as  previously,  a  very  good  attendance.  The  chair  was 
taken  by  the  Ven.  Archdeacon  Thomas,  who  called  upon  Mr. 
Stephen  W.  Williams,  F.R.I. B. A.,  to  read  his  paper  on  "Farther 
Excavations  at  Strata  Florida  Abbey".  The  paper  was  illustrated 
by  a  ground-plan  and  a  large  number  of  drawings  of  architectural 
details  discovered  in  the  course  of  the  excavations.  Mr.  J.  W. 
Willis-Bund,  F.S.A.,  then  followed  with  another  paper^  bearing  on 
the  same  subject,  entitled  "Who  was  the  Founder  of  Strata  Florida?" 

After  the  reading  of  Mr.   Willis-Bund's  paper,  Mr.  Banks  re- 
marked that  Leland's  statement  that  Rhys  ap  Tewdwr  was  the 
founder  of  the  Abbey  of  Strata  Florida  might  well  be  disregarded. 
There  could  be  no  doubt  that  Rhys  ap  GriflSth  bailt  the  Abbey  and 
endowed  it.     In  an  early  volume  of  the  Journal  there  is  a  transla- 
tion of  an  innpeximus  of  a  series  of  charters  relating  to  the  Abbey. 
Speaking  from  recollection  of  its  contents,  Rhys,  Prince  of  South 
Wales  in  1184,  confirmed  by  his  charter,  at  the   Church  of  St. 
Bridget,  Rhayader,  his  previous  donation  to  the  Abbey  of  the  large 
possessions  there  described,  in  the  presence  of  his  army,  stating  in 
his  charter  that  he  began  the  building,   and  cherished   it   when 
built.     There  could  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  authenticity  of  his  charter, 
as  it  was  confirmed  by  King  Henry  III,  who  must  have  been  satis- 
fied as  to  the  fact.     He  considered  it  unimportant  that  Rhys  ap 
Griffith  did  not  in  his  charter  claim  to  be  the  founder.     It  was  un- 
necessary to  say  more  than  that  he  built  and  endowed  the  Abbey. 
With  regard  to  the  burning  of  the  monastery,  he  thought  that  the 
Chronicle  of  St  Werhurgh  gave  a  satisfactory  account  of  the  cause 
of  the  fire.     The  Welsh  Annals^  under   the  date  of  1286,  merely 
recorded   the   occurrence   of  a   fire — "  combustio   domorum   apud 
Btratam  Floridam" — without  assigning  the  cause.     The  Chronicle  of 
the  Princes  did  no  more.     The  Chronicle  of  Si.  Werhurgh^  the  writer 
of  which  was  contemporary  with  the  event  which  he  describes, 
states  that  twelve  days  before  Christmas  1284,  the  bell-tower  was 
struck  by  lightning  at  night,  and  that  the  fire,  after  destroying  the 
tower,  extended  to  the  roof  of  the  church,  which  was  covered  with 
lead,  and  burnt  the  whole  of  the  church,  except  the  presbytery,  to 
the  walls;  a  fact  which  receives  confirmation  from  the  frequent 
occurrence  in  all  parts  of  the  ruins  of  melted  lead.     This  fire  took 
place  when  Edward  bad  completed  his  conquest  of  Wales  in  a  time 
of  peace.     If  the  King's  forces  had  set  fire  to  the  church,  the 
Welsh  annalists  would  have  recorded  the  fact.     The  second  fire, 
referred  to  in  King  Edward's  licence  to  rebuild,  took  place  in  1295, 
while  Wales  was  in  a  state  of  insurrection  on  account  of  the  King's 

*  Both  papers  will  appear  in  the  January  Number  of  the  Arch,  Camb. 
for  1889. 

28^ 


406  CAMBRIAN  AROHiEOLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

attempt  to  levy  a  fifteenth  there,  as  he  had  done  two  years  before 
in  England.  In  his  licence  to  rebuild  the  Abbey,  the  King  attri- 
butes this  fire  to  his  forces  contrary  to  his  \\'i8li.  It  does  not 
follow  that  the  fire  extended  to  the  church.  The  insurgents  may 
well  have  occupied  part  of  the  monastic  buildings,  and  the  Boyal 
forces  may  have  set  fire  to  them  in  order  to  dislodge  the  insurgents. 

Mr.  David  Lewis  differed  from  the  view  taken  by  Mr.  Willis- 
Bund,  and  said  it  was  a  large  thing  to  ask  them  to  say  that  the 
irufpexirmLs  of  the  foundation  was  a  forgery. 

Mr.  Edward  Owen  followed  in  a  similar  strain.  He  considered 
the  non-mention  of  the  names  of  De  Clare  in  any  of  the  confirma- 
tions of  the  charter  a  fatal  objection  to  Mr.  Willis- Bund's  theory. 
With  regard  to  the  statements  that  it  was  unlikely  a  Welsh  prince 
would  found  a  Cistercian  house,  there  were  several  such  founda- 
tions in  North  Wales. 

Mr.  S.  W.  Williams  said  it  seemed  to  be  forgotten  that  there 
were  two  abbeys — one  at  Ystradfieur,  two  miles  from  the  abbey 
they  had  been  discussing.  This  was  the  abbey  founded  by  Rhys  ap 
Tewdwr.  Then  camo  his  grandson,  who  founded  Strata  Florida. 
He  had  himself  inspected  the  site  of  the  former  abbey. 

Mr.  Willis-Bund  replied,  and  the  meeting  shortly  afterwards 
terminated. 


EXCURSION,    THURSDAY,   AUGUST   16th. 

The  day's  work  commenced  with  a  walk  round  the  town  walls  of 
Cowbridge,  and  an  examination  of  the  church. 

Toivn  Walls  of  Cowbridge. — A  glance  at  the  map  shows  the 
importance  of  the  position  occupied  by  Cowbridge,  or  Pontfaen,  in 
the  centre  of  the  vale  of  Glamorgan,  and  lying  probably  on  the  old 
Roman  military  road  through  South  Wales.  The  town  was  an 
appanage  of  the  Castle  of  St.  Quentin,  and  it  was  walled  round 
before  the  thirteenth  century.  The  most  complete  remains  of  the 
wall  are  on  the  south  side,  where  a  gateway  is  still  standing.  The 
wall,  where  perfect,  is  25  ft.  high,  having  a  batter  outside,  and  a 
walk  inside  the  battlements  14  ft.  wide. 

Cowbridge  Church, — The  plan  comprises  a  nave ;  choir  under  the 
central  tower;  an  aisle,  with  an  arcade  of  five  arches,  extending  the 
whole  length  of  the  south  walls  of  the  nave  and  choir;  and  a 
chancel  with  a  north  aisle.  The  tower  is  of  the  same  military  type 
noticed  at  Ewenny  and  elsewhere ;  and  the  moulded  capitals  and 
pointed  arches  in  the  interior  show  that  it  is  Early  English  in 
style.  There  is  a  fine  wall-tablet  erected  to  the  memory  of  William 
Came  of  Nash,  1626,  in  the  south  aisle  of  the  nave. 

The  inscriptions  on  the  communion-plate  are  as  follow  : 

"Ex  done  A.  Bowens  ux.  T.  Wilkins  gen.  A'>  1744. 

Llanblethian  Parish 
I.H.8." 


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COWBKIDGK    MEETING. — REPORT.  407 

*'  The  gift  of  Hester  Wilkins  widow 

to 
the  Parish  of  Llanblethian  in  the  county  of 
Glamorganshire 
1739." 

The  party  now  retarned  to  the  Bear  Hotel,  whore  carriages  were 
in  readiness  to  proceed  to  St.  Qaentin's  Castle,  half  a  mile  south- 
west of  Cowbridge. 

SL  Quentin^s  Castle. — The  river  on  which  Cowbridge  is  situated 
runs  through  a  wide  valley  before  it  reaches  the  town,  but  below 
this  valley  suddenly  contracts.  At  the  narrowest  point  St.  Quentin's 
Castle  occupies  the  summit  of  the  east  bank  of  the  river,  whilst 
Llanblethian  Church  is  in  a  similar  position  on  the  opposite  side. 
References  to  the  history  of  the  Castle  occur  in  Mr.  J.  A.  Corbett*8 
paper  on  the  **  Manor  of  Llanblethian'*,  read  at  the  evening  meet- 
ing, held  Tuesday,  August  14th.  Mr.  Corbett  points  out  that  the 
name  S^.  Quentin  is  of  comparatively  modern  origin,  for  in  an 
inquisition  post  mortem^  made  on  the  death  of  Gilbert  de  Clare,  Earl 
of  Gloucester  and  Hertford,  and  Lord  of  Glamorgan,  who  was 
killed  at  Bannockburn  in  1314,  the  fortress  is  called  Talevan  Castle. 
The  present  building  is  of  the  fourteenth  century,  and  was  commenced 
long  after  the  time  of  St.  Quentin,  even  if  he  ever  held  the  manor, 
of  which  Mr.  Corbett  can  find  no  proof.  Most  of  the  fortifications 
have  been  destroyed,  with  the  exception  of  the  fine  gateway  ^hown 
in  Mr.  Banks'  photograph.  Mr.  F.  B.  Kempson's  keen  eye  detected 
a  very  peculiar  bit  of  architectural  detail  in  the  front  of  this  gate- 
way. Where  the  chamfered  arch-mouldings  usually  produce  an 
elliptically  curved  line  of  intersection  with  the  splayed  jambs  (as  in 
the  interior  of  an  Early  English  window),  a  small  cusped  sinking  is 
substituted.  The  inside  of  the  gateway  now  serves  the  ignoble  use 
of  a  cowshed,  and  a  very  dirty  one  too.  This  beautiful  ruin  is 
certainly  deserving  of  better  treatment. 

From  St.  Quentin's  a  drive  of  nearly  two  miles  brought  the 
party  to  the  charming  old  manor-house  of  Llanmihangel. 

Llanmihangel  House, — The  house  is  approached  through  a  magni- 
ficent  avenue  of  ancient  yew-trees,  whose  dark  shadows  must  look 
ghostly  enough  in  the  dusk  of  a  winter's  evening,  and,  even  with 
the  bright  midsummer  sun  shining  through  the  branches,  produce 
an  effect  of  sombre  melancholy.  Llanmihangel  is  one  of  the  few 
old  Welsh  manor-houses  which  are  still  inhabited ;  and  it  is  greatly 
to  the  credit  of  Mr.  Jenkins,  the  present  tenant,  that,  although  the 
interior  is  kept  beautifully  neat  and  clean,  there  has  been  no 
attempt  to  destroy  the  old  appearance  in  any  way  by  injudicious 
modern  additions  or  alterations.  The  largest  room  in  the  house  is 
panelled  with  oak,  almost  up  to  the  top  of  the  walls.  It  has  a 
plaster  ceiling,  divided  geometrically  into  recessed  panels  of  difier- 
ent  shapes  by  moulded  bars  projecting  above  the  surface  of  the 
rest.  The  fireplace,  which  Mr.  T.  M.  Franklen  has  very  kindly 
photographed  by  Mr.  Jenkins'  permission,  is  a  good  specimen  of 


408  CAMBRIAN  ARCHiEOLOGlCAL  ASSOCIATION. 

sixteenth  century  carved  stonework.  The  flat  Tudor  arch,  under 
which  a  modem  grate  is  6xed,  has  six  coats-of-arms  above  it,  with 
scrolls  and  inscriptions  nearly  obliterated. 

The  following  notes  on  the  heraldic  devices  on  the  chimney-piece 
have  been  contributed  by  Mr.  Iltyd  Nicholl : — 

"  On  the  fireplace  at  Llanmihangel  Place,  which  house  is  said  to 
have  been  built  by  James  Thomas  (sheriff  1550),  are  five  coats-of- 
arms  that  I  can  account  for ;  the  other  one  (on  the  left)  is  the 
griffin  segreant  of  the  Morgan  family.  The  only  connection  that  I 
can  find  between  the  families  of  Thomas  of  Llanmihangel  and 
Morgan  is  that  Jane  Van,  wife  of  James  Thomas,  was  grand- 
daughter of  Sir  Thomas  Bowles  and  Maud  his  wife,  who  was 
daughter  of  Sir  Thomas  Morgan  of  Pencoyd,  co.  Monmouthshire. 
I  do  not  see  why  the  Morgan  arms  should  be  carved  on  the 
chimney-piece,  as  Maud  Morgan  was  not  an  heiress  or  co-heiress ; 
but  there  they  are. 

"  No.  2  shield  contains  the  paternal  arms  of  James  Thomas — Per 
pale  az,  and  gu.  three  lioncels  ramp,  arg.,  crescent  for  difference. 
The  grandfather  of  James  Thomas,  John  Evan  Thomas,  was  the 
first  of  the  name  at  Llanmihangel ;  he  married  the  heiress  of 
Llanmihangel,  Eleanor,  daughter  and  heiress  of  Thomas  Ddu  ap 
Gronow,  by  Agnes  Chichele,  heiress  of  Llanmihaugel.  John  Evan 
Thomas  was  grandson  of  Thomas  ab  Gwilim  Jenkin  Herbert,  who 
died  1438,  and  of  his  wife,  Maud,  daughter  and  co-heiress  of  Sir 
John  Morley  of  Raglan  Castle.     Arms  of  Morley,  a  lion  ramp. 

*'No.  3  shield  is  the  quartered  arms  of  James  Thomas,  together 
with  the  quartered  arms  of  his  wife,  Jane  Van.  The  arrange- 
ment of  the  quarters  is  not  according  to  the  present  system  of 
heraldry ;  but  the  dexter  half  of  the  husband's  shield  is  impaled 
with  the  sinister  half  of  the  wife's  quartered  arms. 

*  *  No.  4.  Quarterly  of  four.  Arms  of  James  Thomas,  reversed, 
for  sake,  perhaps,  of  balancing  shield  No.  3:  I.  Eleanor  Ddu, 
being  the  arms  of  her  ancestors  the  Cantclupes ;  2.  Herbert  alias 
Thomas ;  3.   Morley ;  4.  Cradoc. 

**No.  5.  Cradoc.  Az.  semee  of  cross  croslets  three  boars'  heads 
couped  ar^,  Thomas  Ddu  ap  Gronow  above  mentioned  was  grand- 
son of  Elizabeth,  daughter  and  co-heir  of  Wilcock  Cradoc. 

"No.  6.  Quarterly  1  and  4.  Sa.  a  chev.  betw.  three  butterflies  dis- 
played arg.y  for  Van ;  2  and  3.  Ermine  a  bend  gu.^  for  Walsh  of 
Llandough,  whose  co-heir  married  Van  in  the  fourteenth  century." 

Mr.  Jenkins  had  hospitably  prepared  refreshments  for  his  guests 
in  an  adjoining  room,  where  they  had  also  an  opportunity  of  admir- 
ing a  curious  piece  of  tapestry,  in  good  preservation,  representing 
Queen  Esther  supplicating  mercy  for  the  people  of  God  of  King 
Ahasuerus.  Before  leaving,  the  Rev.  D.  Evans,  Rector  of  Llan- 
maes,  exhibited  his  parish  register,  the  oldest  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, and  dating  from  1583.  In  this  register  is  the  entry  of  the 
death  of  Ivan  Yorwath,  who  was  reputed  to  have  died  at  the 
mature  age  of  180.     It  reads  :  "Ivan  Yorath,  buried  on  Saterdaye, 


COWBRIDGE   MEETING. — REPORT. 


409 


the  29th  day  of  July,  anno  dom'i  1621,  e&i  an'o  regni  reigis 
vicaecimo  primo  annoqnsB  stos  circa  180 ;  he  was  a  sowdier  in  the 
fights  of  Bosworthe,  and  lived  at  Llantwitt  Major,  and  he  lived  by 
much  fishing." 

Llanmihangel  Honse  is  sitnated  on  a  hill-side  close  to  the  chnrch, 
which  lies  in  the  valley  below. 

Llanmihangel  Church, — ^The  plan  of  the  chnrch  consists  of  a  nave, 
chancel,  and  south  porch.  At  the  time  of  the  visit  of  the  Associa- 
tion it  was  undergoing  restoration  by  Mr.F.R.  Kempson,  F.R.I.B.A., 
who  formed  one  of  the  party,  and  explained  the  architectural 
details  of  the  building.  The  tower  is  of  military  character,  with 
cross  loopholes,  and  has  a  saddle-back  roof.  The  old  cradle-roof  of 
the  nave  still  remains.  The  design  of  the  principals  is  different  in 
the  portion  above  the  rood-loft.  The  font  has  an  octagonal  bowl  on 
a  circular  stem,  and  is  devoid  of  ornament.  There  is  a  curious 
effigy  outside  the  church  at  the  east  end. 

The  water  of  the  well  near  the  church  flows  through  the  breasts 
of  a  woman's  bust,  sculptured  in  relief  upon  a  slab  of  stone. 


Bcalptared  Bust,  St.  Anne's  Well*  Llanmihangel. 
An  inch  and  a  half  scale. 

The  next  place  on  the  programme  was  Llantwit  Major,  two  miles 
south  of  Llanmihangel.  Here  an  address  was  delivered  in  the 
churchyard  by  Mr.  J.  Bomilly  Allen,  on  the  inscribed  and  sculp- 
tured crosses,  which  will  be  published,  with  illustrations,  in  a 
future  number  of  the  ArckcBclogia  Cambrensis, 

Llantvdt  Major  Church, — At  least  twelve  churches  in  Wales  are 
dedicated  to  St.  Iltyd ;  but  all  these  sink  into  insignificance  when 


410  CAMBRIAN  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

compared  with  Llan  Iltyd  Fawr,  or  the  church  of  St.  lltyd.  From 
the  fifth  century  to  the  present  day  this  place  has  been  associated 
with  the  varying  fortunes  of  the  Welsh  Church ;  and  from  the 
College  founded  here  by  St.  Iltutus  a  noble  army  of  saints  went 
forth  to  pursue  their  missionary  labours  in  Brittany,  Wales,  and 
Cornwall,  making  the  name  of  the  Glamorganshire  village  whence  they 
came  a  household  word  throughout  Celtic  Christendom.  Nothing 
now  remains  of  the  structures  or  monuments  of  the  earliest  period ; 
the  crosses  in  the  churchyard  being  of  the  ninth  century,  and  no 
part  of  the  present  buildings  older  than  the  twelfth  century.  Never- 
theless, an  indescribable  air  of  antiquity  seems  to  pervade  the 
whole  place,  and  one  feels  almost  intuitively  that  one  is  standing  on 
holy  ground,  hallowed  by  thirteen  centuries  of  pious  devotion. 
The  church  lies  in  a  hollow,  with  a  flight  of  steps  leading  down 
into  the  churchyard  from  the  road.  The  path  along  the  south  side 
is  paved  right  up  to  the  building,  and  a  stone  seat  against  the  wall 
aflbrds  an  opportunity  to  rest  and  contemplate  the  curious  graves, 
covered  with  water- worn  quartz  pebbles.  The  photograph  here  re- 
produced was  taken  before  the  recent  restoration.  It  will  be 
noticed  how  much  better  the  small  slates  of  the  old  roof  look  than 
the  larger  ones,  with  which  the  whole  is  now  covered.  The  reason 
of  this  is,  that  the  lines  of  overlapping  of  large  thin  slates  are  so 
straight  and  fine  that  they  give  no  variety  to  the  surface,  the 
appearance  of  "  texture"  produced  by  the  closely  packed  undulating 
lines  of  small  slates  being  entirely  wanting.  The  folly  of  destroy- 
ing the  picturesquenesfl  of  the  old  roof  by  using  large  slates  was 
very  clearly  put  before  the  committee  for  the  restoration  by  the 

fentleman  who  reported  on  the  work  on  behalf  of  the  Society  for  the 
Protection  of  Ancient  Buildings.  As  is  usual  in  such  cases,  the  so- 
called  practical  man  on  the  committee  succeeded  in  persuading  his 
colleagues  that  artistic  considerations  should  be  treated  with  the 
contempt  they  deserve. 

The  architectural  peculiarities  of  Llantwit  church  have  been  a 
great  puzzle  to  antiquaries.  Mr.  E.  A.  Freeman's  views  on  the 
subject  have  been  expressed  in  a  paper  in  the  Arckceologia  Cam- 
brensis  (vol.  iv,  Ser.  3,  p.  31).  The  plan  consists  of  a  nave,  with 
north  and  south  aisles,  and  tower  at  the  west  end ;  chancel ;  a 
second  western  church,  now  disused,  having  a  south  porch;  and 
further  west  again  is  a  ruined  building,  which  has  been  conjec- 
tured to  be  a  Galilee  or  large  western  porch,  with  a  sacristan's 
house  on  the  north  side.  The  oldest  portion  of  the  church  com- 
prises the  nave  with  its  aisles  and  the  chancel.  The  details  of  the 
capitals  of  the  arches  under  the  tower  are  Early  English.  The 
three  original  cusped  lancet  windows  remain  in  the  north  wall  of 
the  chancel.  The  windows  in  the  aisles  belong  to  the  end  of  the 
thirteenth  century,  when  tracery  was  just  beginning  to  develop. 
As  examples  of  the  simplest  kind  of  tracery,  consisting  of  two 
cusped  lancets  and  a  circle  under  a  pointed  hood  moulding,  they 
are  very  instructive.     A  window  of  the  same  class  is  to  be  seen  at 


COWBRIDGE  MEETING. — BEPORT.         411 

Llangwm  Chnrch,  Monmonthshire.  The  windows  in  the  north 
and  Bonth  walls  of  the  naire-aisles  at  Llantwit  are  all  of  the  same 
pattern,  and  symmetrically  sitnated  opposite  each  other,  four  on 
the  north  and  three  on  the  soath,  the  doorway  occupying  the  last 
bay  to  the  west.  The  aisles  have  also  triple-light  cusped  lancet 
windows  at  the  east,  and  small  single  casped  lancets  at  the  west 
end.  The  east  window  of  the  chancel  is  modem,  and  Perpendicular 
in  style.  East  of  the  tower  are  three  perfectly  plain  pointed 
arcade-arches  springing  from  square  piers,  being  nothing  more  than 
openings  cut  square  through  the  wall,  as  is  the  case  in  many  of  the 
Pembrokeshire  churches.*  There  is  a  clerestory  to  the  nave,  and 
the  proportions  of  this  part  of  the  building,  possessing  as  it  does 
great  height  and  breadth  in  comparison  to  its  length,  are  very 
striking.  The  extreme  simplicity,  amounting  almost  to  rudeness, 
of  the  arcade-arches  contrasts  remarkably  with  the  finish  of  some  of 
the  other  architectural  details.  During  the  restoration  of  the  nave 
aud  tower,  completed  this  year,  the  oak  timbers  of  the  roof  were 
entirely  replaced  with  pine.  The  old  design  was  adhered  to, 
except  that  the  edges  of  the  curved  timbers  were  chamfered  instead  of 
being  left  square,  the  carved  bosses  were  omitted,  and  the  moulding 
of  the  wall-plate  inaccurately  copied.  The  roof  is  constructed 
entirely  with  trussed  rafters,  and  has  no  principals.  The  span  of 
the  roof  is  21  ft.  8  in.,  and  t^^e  length  of  the  nave  41  ft.  There  are 
twenty-seven  trussed  rafters,  1ft.  7  in.  centre  to  centre.  The  truss 
consists  of  a  tie-beam  near  the  top  and  curved  pieces  below,  as  in 
the  cradle-roof.  In  the  course  of  the  restoration  the  following 
discoveries  were  made :  (1)  a  small  window  opening  out  of  the  east 
wall  of  the  tower  into  the  nave ;  (2)  a  second  clerestory  window  on 
the  south  side ;  and  (3)  several  wall-paintings  of  late  date  under 
the  whitewash  of  the  walls  of  the  nave.  The  beautiful  stone  Per- 
pendicular reredos  in  the  chancel,  and  the  thirteenth  century  niche 
with  the  Tree  of  Jesse^  carved  upon  the  sides,  are  well  worthy  of 
attention.  The  latter  has  been  engraved  in  the  Arckoeologia  Gam- 
brensis  (vol.  iv,  Ser.  3,  p.  43).  The  font  is  ornamented  with  a  scale- 
like pattern,  like  those  at  Kenfig,  St.  Donat's. 

The  western,  or  old  church  as  it  is  now  called,  Mr.  Freeman 
believes  to  have  been  the  parochial  church  before  the  Dissolution, 
and  the  eastern  one  to  have  belonged  to  the  monks.  Although 
called  the  old  church,  it  appears  to  have  been  erected  about  one 
hundred  years  later  than  the  rest  of  the  building.  The  oak  roof 
has  some  well- carved  bosses  with  the  coats-of-arms  of  the  Bassetts, 
the .  Berkerolles  (see  Arch,  Camb.,  vol.  iv,  Ser.  3,  p.  284).  This 
part  of  the  church  is  at  present  used  as  a  burying-place,  and  against 
the  walls  are  placed  two  monuments  of  the  ninth  century,  namely, 


^  Similar  arches  existed  at  Llantrissant  Church,  Glamorganshire,  before 
it  underwent  a  destructive  restoration. 

^  The  bottom  piece  of  this  Tree  of  Jesse  is  built  into  the  wall  of  the  old 
i  western  church,  under  a  niche. 

i 


412  CAMBRIAN  ARCHiEOLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

the  inscribed  cross  of  Howel  the  son  of  Res,  and  a  cross-shaft 
covered  with  interlaced  work  on  the  four  sides  (engraved  in.  Pro- 
fessor I.  0.  Westwood's  Lapidarium  WcUlice^  plates  5,  6,  and  9). 
Besides  these  there  are  also  two  later  sepulchral  monuments  of 
great  interest :  (1)  a  semi-effigial  slab  of  the  twelfth  century,  in- 
scribed in  Lombardio  capitals 


NB   PETRA   CALCETVR  QVI    SVB    lACET  ISTA   TVETVB, 

which  has  been  frequently  engraved  {Arch,  Camb.j  vol.  ii,  p.  319 ; 
ArchcBologiay  vol.  vi,  p.  24;  Bouteirs  Christian  Monuments,  p.  127; 
and  Cutts'  Sepulchral  Slabs) ;  and  (2)  an  efB.gy  of  the  Eliza- 
bethan period  which  affords  an  interesting  example  of  costume, 
and  shows  how  the  interlaced  work  of  the  early  sculptured  stones 
was  adapted  to  decorative  purposes  in  more  recent  times.  The 
revival  of  interlaced  work  in  the  sixteenth  century  may  be  perhaps 
traced  to  a  Venetian  source,  as  many  of  the  books  on  embroidery 
published  there  contain  similai*  patterns. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  churchyard  are  the  steps,  socket-stone, 
and  shaft  of  a  fourteenth  century  cross.  There  are  also  three 
monuments  of  the  ninth  century :  (1)  the  inscribed  cross-shaft  of 
Samson,  Arthmael,  and  King  Juthael,  standing  against  the  east 
wall  of  the  south  porch  of  the  old  western  church;  (2)  a  cylin- 
drical pillar  with  interlaced  work,  against  the  north  wall  of  the 
old  eastern  church ;  and  (3)  the  inscribed  shaft  of  the  cross  of 
Samson,  Iltet,  and  Ebisar,  standing  in  the  middle  of  the  church- 
yard on  the  north  side  (see  Professor  I.  0.  Westwood*s  Lapidarium 
Wallice,  pis.  3,  4,  7,  and  8). 

After  partaking  of  an  excellent  luncheon,  served  in  the  Town 
Hall,  by  Mr.  T.  Kees,  of  the  New  White  Hart,  an  inspection  was 
made  of  the  large  collection  of  bronze  implements  dug  up  at 
Llantwit,  belonging  to  Councillor  R.  Price  (see  Arch.  Camb.,  vol. 
iv,  Ser.  5,  p.  151).  Should  Mr.  Price  present  these  valuable  relics 
to  the  Cardiff  Museum  at  some  future  time,  he  will  earn  the  lasting 
gratitude  of  all  archasologists.  The  more  antiquities  which  remain 
in  private  hands  the  less  chance  there  is  of  any  advance  being  made 
in  archssological  science.  Glamorganshire  has  been  particularly 
prolific  in  finds  of  bronze  implements;  and  if  all  the  specimens 
could  be  brought  together  in  the  Cardiff  Museum,  some  idea  could 
be  formed  of  the  state  of  culture  of  the  inhabitants  of  South  Wales 
during  the  bronze  age.  The  question  is  one  of  national  import- 
ance, and  it  ought  to  be  realised  that  every  person  who  hoards  up 
objects  of  interest  privately,  instead  of  adding  them  to  a  public  collec- 
tion, is  keeping  back  so  many  facts  from  the  general  store  of  know- 
ledge. He  is,  to  put  it  plainly,  retai'diug  the  progress  of  science  in 
order  that  he  may  feed  his  vanity  by  posing  as  the  possessor  of  rare 
treasures,  or  gi'atify  the  mania  of  a  curio-hunter. 

The  bell  in  the  belfry  of  the  Town  Hall  at  Llantwit,  although  a 
comparatively  modem  one,  commemorates  St.  Iltyd  in  its  inscrip- 
tion : — "  Sancte  Iltute  ora  pro  nobis'* — and  may  perhaps  have  sue- 


COWBRIDGE  MEETING. — REPORT.  413 

ceeded  one  of  the  quadrangalar  bells  of  the  early  Celtic  Chnrcb. 
The  steps  of  a  cross  still  remain  in  the  village  above  the  church, 
and  the  surrounding  bouses  are  good  specimens  of  domestic  archi- 
tecture of  the  seventeenth  century. 

Leaving  Llantwit  Major  with  no  small  regret  that  time  did  not 
permit  of  a  longer  stay,  the  carriages  proceeded  to  the  site  called 
Csierwrgan,  where  the  members  of  the  Association  and  their 
friends  had  been  invited  to  inspect  the  excavations  being  made  for 
the  Cardiff  Naturalists'  Field  Club,  under  the  able  superintendence 
of  Mr.  John  Storrie,  Curator  of  the  Cardiff  Museum. 

Excavations  at  Caerwrgan, — The  following  account  of  the  dis- 
coveries appeared  in  the  Aihenoeum  for  October  20, 1888,  No.  3182 : — 

''ROMAN    REMAINS    IN    GLAMORQANSHIRE. 

•*  Cardiff,  Oct.  8,  1888. 

''  The  quaint  town  of  Llantwit  Major,  dear  to  the  heart  of  students 
of  British  Church  history  and  Cambrian  archaaology,  has  been  in- 
vested with  new  interest  by  the  discovery  in  its  neighbourhood  of 
considerable  Roman  remains.  The  merit  of  this  discovery  rests 
with  Mr.  John  Storrie,  the  Curator  of  the  Cardiff  Museum.  On 
his  suggestion  excavations  have  been  made  during  the  last  few 
weeks  in  a  field  locally  known  as  Caermead,  lying  about  a  mile  to 
the  north-north-west  of  Llantwit  Major,  and  about  half  a  mile 
west  of  the  road  to  Cowbridge. 

*'  In  this  field  Mr.  Storrie  had  observed  about  a  year  ago  certain 
grass-grown  ridges,  running  four  square,  and  enclosing  an  area  of 
about  eight  acres.  His  first  impression  was  that  these  ridges 
marked  the  site  of  an  early  British  camp ;  bat  on  inquiry  among 
the  elders  of  the  town  of  Llantwit  he  found  that  at  the  beginning 
of  this  centnry  the  walls  of  extensive  buildings  on  this  site  had 
been  levelled  w^ith  the  ground  and  the  stones  carried  off  to  neigh* 
bouring  lime- kilns.  This,  he  thoaght,  might  perhaps  be  accounted 
for  on  the  supposition  that  modern  buildings  had  been  erected  on 
an  ancient  site.  No  attempt  was  ever  made  by  any  local  antiquary 
to  examine  these  mounds  and  ridges  properly,  although  theories  as 
to  their  origin  existed  in  abundance.  It  was  clear  from  the 
moment  the  excavations  were  begun  that  the  remains  were  Roman, 
for  fragments  of  Romano- British  pottery  and  brass  coins  of  the 
third  century  were  early  brought  to  light.  But  no  one  expected  to 
find  so  far  to  the  south  of  the  Via  Julia  the  remains  of  a  large  and 
well-appointed  Roman  villa,  showing  indications  of  military  occu- 
pation either  here  or  in  the  near  neighbourhood.  Yet  the  building 
whose  foundations  are  now  partly  laid  bare  must  have  covered 
about  two  acres  out  of  the  eight  which  are  enclosed  and  defended 
by  a  rampart.  In  all,  the  outlines  of  fifteen  rooms  have  been 
traced,  and  of  these  three  are  sufficiently  exposed  to  afford  an 
opportunity  of  judging  as  to  their  probable  use  and  style  of  mural 
decoration. 


414  CAMBRIAN  ARCH^OLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

**  The  largest  lies  on  the  north  side,  and  measures  60  ft.  by  51  ft. 
Mr.  Storrie  believes  it  to  have  been  used  as  a  preetorinm.  In  some 
parts  the  walls  are  about  9  ft.  high — the  highest  yet  met  with — 
and  still  retain  their  original  wall-plaster  with  decorations  in  blue, 
vermilion,  and  Pompeian  red,  these  colours  being  as  briglit  as  when 
first  laid  on.  Next  to  this  room,  and  at  its  south-east  angle,  lies  a 
small  room  about  12  ft.  square,  which  appears  to  have  been  used  as  a 
workshop,  if  one  may  judge  by  the  metallic  fragments,  clinkers, 
and  bits  of  coal  which  strew  the  floor.  Immediately  to  the  south 
of  this  artificers'  room  is  a  large  hall,  which  has  so  far  proved  the 
chief  point  of  interest,  39  ft.  by  27  ft.  in  its  full  extent.  It  is 
divided  into  two  compartments  by  a  slight  wall,  pierced  by  a  wide 
door-space,  most  likely  covered  by  curtains  easily  removable  when 
it  was  needful  to  throw  the  two  compartments  into  one.  The 
larger  compartment  is  about  twice  the  size  of  the  other.  The 
entire  floor  of  the  hall  has  been  adorned  with  tessellated  pavement, 
and  enough  remains  to  show  its  general  design  and  quality ;  but  in 
places  it  has  been  sadly  mutilated.  The  pattern  has  one  or  two 
singular  features.  It  consists  of  circular,  square,  and  star-shaped 
devices,  enclosed  in  hexagons  and  octagons.  The  cross  corners 
(north-east  and  south-west)  are  each  occupied  by  a  two  feet  square 
of  single  fret,  and  at  the  north-west  corner  there  is  a  much  larger 
square  of  single  fret  in  five  colours.  The  outer  border  is  made  ap 
of  thirty-two  rows  of  brown  tesserae.  Next  to  this  comes  a  double- 
fret  border  in  three  colours,  red,  white,  and  brown,  within  which  is 
a  pretty  framework  of  diamonds  and  triangles  enclosing  the  central 
bordering,  which  is  white  and  blue.  Then  come  the  round,  square, 
and  star-shaped  devices  just  mentioned,  which  are  made  of  small 
and  fine-grained  tesserss.  Of  the  colours  employed,  the  pale  sea- 
green  and  dark  olive  are  different  from  those  at  Caerleon  and  Caer- 
went,  Monmouthshire,  the  nearest  sites  at  present  of  similar  dis- 
coveries to  those  at  Llantwit  Major.  The  other  colours  are  red, 
brown,  blue,  and  white.  The  red  tesseres  are  made  of  common 
brick,  the  white  of  marble,  and  the  green,  apparently  (they  have 
not  yet  been  tested),  of  some  volcanic  ash. 

"  In  laying  bare  the  pavement  of  this  hall  no  fewer  than  forty- 
one  human  skeletons  of  both  sexes  and  all  ages  have  been  met  with, 
and  among  them  the  bones  of  three  horses.  In  one  instance  a 
human  skeleton  lay  beneath  that  of  a  horse  in  such  a  position  as  to 
indicate  that  the  horse  had  crashed  and  killed  the  man  by  fiilling 
upon  him.  It  is  evident  that  this  hall  had  been  the  scene  of  a 
massacre,  for  in  nearly  every  iubtance  the  skull  or  facial  bones  have 
been  fractured,  and  the  bodies  lie  over  one  another  in  confused 
heaps.  In  four  instances  there  had  been  an  attempt  at  burial. 
For  this  purpose  the  pavement  was  torn  up  and  the  body  laid  in  an 
opening  not  more  than  six  incfaes  deep,  its  feet  towards  the  east^ 
and  then  surrounded  with  stones  in  the  form  of  a  coffin  and 
covered  with  a  few  inches  of  earth.  The  unburied  bodies  belong 
to  a  small  race  with    brachycephalic   skulls;    but  those  that  are 


COWBRIDGE   MEETING. — REPORT.  415 

baried  were  clearly  men  of  a  larger  size,  and  had  skulls  of  the 
dolichocephalic  type.  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  former 
represent  the  natives  of  the  district,  and  the  latter  the  attacking 
party. 

"Nothing  of  value  has  been  met  with  in  the  way  of  pottery, 
excepting  a  cinerary  nrn,  which  was  fonnd  a  few  feet  beneath  the 
surface  on  the  outer  side  of  the  north  wall.  There  are  still  traces 
of  a  mound  having  been  raised  over  it.  This  mound  had  been  cut 
through  and  partly  levelled  at  the  time  when  the  wall  was  built ; 
but  the  nm  with  its  contents  remained  undisturbed  in  its  original 
position  and  beneath  its  stone  govering.  A  small  quantity  of  char-, 
coal  and  calcined  bones  lay  at  the  bottom  of  the  urn,  and  all  the  rest 
of  the  interior  was  filled  up  with  worm-castings.  The  other  speci- 
mens of  pottery  are  common  black  and  grey  ware,  and,  with  the 
possible  exception  of  a  small  piece  of  Samian,  are  all  of  Bomano- 
British  make. 

"Only  six  or  seven  coins  have  been  obtained  thus  far,  and  all  but 
one  of  these  are  Roman  Imperial  brass  in  rather  poor  condition, 
and  represent  the  latter  half  of  the  third  century,  to  which  belong 
the  vast  majority  of  Roman  coins  hitherto  found  in  Glamorgan- 
shire. About  ten  years  ago  two  thousand  of  these  were  discovered 
by  a  workman  in  the  cleft  of  a  rook  at  Aberkenfig,  three  miles  to 
the  north  of  Bridgend.  The  two  best  preserved  coins  found  at 
Llantwit  are  of  Victorinus  and  Maximianus  I.  The  exceptional 
coin  is  Greek ;  but  nothing  more  can  be  said  of  it,  as  only  two 
letters  of  the  legend  are  legible. 

"The  personal  ornaments  discovered,  such  as  fibulas,  pins,  etc., 
are  few  in  number  and  of  little  consequence. 

"In  stonework  there  are  two  or  three  items  that  deserve  men- 
tion. In  addition  to  the  base  and  part  of  the  shaft  of  several 
columns,  the  workmen  have  come  across  the  lower  portion  of  a 
doorway  which,  when  first  exposed,  was  nearly  complete.  This 
doorway  led  from  the  artificers'  room  into  an  adjoining  passage. 
When  first  found  the  jambs  to  the  height  of  4  ft.  were  in  their 
original  position,  as  also  was  a  circular  block  of  stone  with  its 
socket-hole  1^  in.  in  diameter  and  1^  in.  in  depth,  for  the  door- 
pivot  to  work  in.  Several  stone  raortaria  for  pounding  incal  have 
been  secured,  and  among  them  a  few  fragments  of  earthenware 
mortaria  used  for  the  same  purpose.  The  inner  surface  of  these 
earthenware  mortars  had  been  rendered  rough  by  the  insertion  of 
grains  and  chips  of  fiint. 

"Among  the  carved  stone  relics  the  most  noticeable  is  a  roughly 
wrought  pinnacle  in  Bath  oolite,  about  2  ft.  high.  It  is  cut  in  the 
shape  of  four  pillars  supporting  a  hexagonal  top-piece,  which  is 
finished  off  by  a  device  in  fiowers  or  fruit.  This  small  pinnacle  has 
all  the  look  of  an  ornament  intended  for  the  roof  of  a  Christian 
church.  The  workmanship  is  so  rough  and  indeterminate  in  style 
that  its  date  must  be  left  an  open  question. 

"  It  remains  to  notice  the  hypocaust,  situated  at  the  north-west 


416         CAMBRIAN  ARCH^OLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

angle  of  the  building  area.  Whether  this  belonged  to  a  caldariam, 
a  sndatoriam,  or  a  tepidarium  cannot  at  present  be  determined,  as 
no  part  of  the  superstructure  remains  in  situ.  The  size  of  this  bath 
— if,  indeed,  it  was  a  bath — is  26  ft.  by  22  ft,  6  in.,  and  points  to 
public  rather  than  private  use,  and  to  a  considerable  Roman  or 
Romano-British  settlement  in  the  near  neighbourhood.  But  its 
size  is  not  so  remarkable  a  feature  as  the  odd  construction  of  the 
hypocaust.  This  is  made  up  of  piers  of  the  most  irregular  shape. 
The  appropriate  name  of  *  islands'  has  been  found  for  these  singular 
constructions.  As  may  be  imagined,  the  channels  for  smoke  and 
heated  air  are  as  amorphous  and  unsymmetrical  as  the  piers  by 
which  their  shape  and  course  are  determined.  It  can  hardly  be 
said  that  this  hypocaust  shows  any  leading  passage  for  the  smoke, 
for  all  the  passages  twist  and  turn  into  one  another  with  the  involve- 
ment of  a  maze.  One  of  the  workmen  dryly  remarked  that  *  the 
smoke  and  hot  air  must  have  needed  a  special  training  to  find  their 
way  from  the  furnace  on  the  north  to  the  chimney  on  the  south'. 

"While  these  excavations  have  been  going  on,  special  attention 
has  been  called  to  the  traces  of  a  Roman  road  leading  from  this 
site — Caer  Wrgan — to  another  site  of  no  small  interest  called 
locally  Tre  Wrgan,  half  a  mile  away  to  the  west.  That  a  connec- 
tion must  have  existed  between  Wrgan 's  Castle  and  Wrgan's  Town 
is  evident,  if  only  from  the  fact  that  the  well  which  afforded  their 
common  water-supply  lies  halfway  between  the  two  places.  It  now 
transpires  that  when  the  house  called  *  The  Downs'  was  built  on 
the  sito  of  Tre  Wrgan,  twenty-seven  years  ago,  the  workmen,  in 
digging  for  foundations,  came  upon  remains  which,  judging  by  the 
account  given  of  them,  must  have  been  Roman.  It  is  matter  of 
deep  regret  that  no  proper  notice  was  taken  of  these  discoveries  at 
the  time  when  they  were  made. 

"This  discovery  of  Roman  remains  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Llantwit  Major  raises  several  questions  not  very  easy  of  settle- 
ment. Foremost  among  these  are  the  questions :  1.  Is  this  the 
ancient  Bovium  or  Bomium  of  the  Itineraria  Antonini,  for  which 
Boverton  on  the  south-east  and  Cowbridge  on  the  north  have  put 
in  rival  claims,  without,  however,  offering  any  satisfactory  vindica- 
tion of  them  ?  2.  Have  we  here  not  merely  a  Roman  villa,  with 
semi-military  and  domestic  entourage^  but  a  veritable  military  station 
for  the  protection  of  the  Via  JuUa  against  inroads  from  the  south 
coast,  of  which  this  field  affords  most  extensive  views  to  east  and 
west  ?  3.  Was  this  Roman  road  from  Caer  Wrgan  to  Tre  Wrgan 
part  of  a  Via  Maritima  which  is  supposed  to  have  run  from  the 
Via  Julia  through  Bovium — wheresoever  that  town  lay — to  the  sea- 
coast  ?  4.  Was  this  the  earliest  site  of  one  of  the  first  monastic 
colleges  or  schools  in  Britannia  Secunda,  founded,  as  is  alleged,  by 
St.  Germanus  on  his  second  visit  to  this  country,  447  a.d.,  and  of 
which  Iltud  was  the  head  and  Lupus  the  bishop?^     And,  once 

'  "  Achau  y  Saint"  in  Hortg  Britannicoe,  vol.  ii,  p.  161. 


COWBRIDGE   MEETING. — REPORT.  417 

more,  Was  this  large  hall,  where  the  skeletons  of  men,  women, 
children,  and  horses  have  been  fonnd,  the  scene  of  one  of  the 
massacres  perpetrated  bj  Irish  pirates  in  the  fifth  century,  of  which 
we  read  in  the  pages  of  Cadoc,  the  historian  of  the  neighbonring 
College  of  Llancaryan  ? 

"  W.  E.  Winks, 
"Hon.  Curator,  Cardiff  Museum." 

Leaving  Mr.  Storrie  to  continue  his  work  without  further  inter- 
ruption, half  an  hour's  drive  along  a  road  commanding  a  magnifi- 
cent view  of  the  Bristol  Channel  brought  the  party  to  St.  Donat's 
Castle,  two  miles  west  of  Llantwit  Major,  where  they  were  received 
by  Dr.  Stradling  Came,  the  owner  of  the  mansion.  After  being 
conducted  through  the  various  apartments  by  Dr.  Carne,  and 
having  admired  the  pleasing  prospect  to  be  seen  from  the  windows 
facing  the  sea,  the  church  in  the  valley  below  was  inspected. 

St  Donates  Castle  and  Church, — This  place  was  visited  by  the 
Association  during  the  Bridgend  Meeting,  and  the  Castle  has  been 
described  in  the  Archceologia  Camhrensis  (vol.  xv,  Ser.  3,  p.  276). 
Those  who  wish  to  get  a  good  idea  of  the  general  appearance  of  the 
bnilding  cannot  do  better  than  consult  Mr.  G.  T.  Clark's  Thirteen 
Views  of  the  Ccutle  of  St.  Donates,  with  a  Notice  of  the  Stradling 
Family  (Cardiff,  1871)  ;  and  the  history  of  the  owners  will  be  found 
in  the  Limbus  Patrum  Morganih  et  Glamorganik  (Loud.,  1886),  by 
the  same  author.  The  situation  of  the  Castle,  at  the  mouth  of  a 
well-wooded  ravine  running  up  from  the  Bristol  Channel,  is  admir- 
ably chosen  for  defensive  purposes.  Now,  when  the  age  of  bloody 
civil  warfare  has  happily  passed  away,  the  scene  looks  peaceful 
enough,  and  the  spectator  thinks  only  of  the  sylvan  beauty  of  its 
surroundings,  as  he  watches  the  rooks  wheeling  round  the  church 
tower,  fe,r  down  in  the  valley  below. 

St.  Donat's  Castle  has  been  in  the  possession  of  the  Stradling 
family  since  it  was  given  to  its  first  founder  by  Fitzhamon  in  1090. 
The  present  castle  was  built  by  Sir  William  Stradling  in  the  fif- 
teenth century,  and  was  added  to  in  the  sixteenth  century.  To 
give  some  idea  of  its  extent,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  there 
are  134  rooms  and  14  staircases  within  the  building.  The  floors 
were  originally  of  masonry,  but  they  have  been  recently  replaced 
by  oak  ones.  During  this  alteration  the  skeletons  of  thirteen 
persons,  who  are  supposed  to  have  been  killed  during  one  of  the 
sieges,  were  discovered.  Large  sums  of  money  have  been  re- 
cently spent  by  Dr.  Carne  in  making  the  Castle  habitable.  It 
is  at  present  a  thoroughly  comfortable  modem  residence,  but  at 
the  same  time  the  interior  has  been  fitted  up  in  excellent  taste  with 
oak  panelling  and  old  furniture  which  is  quite  in  keeping  with  the 
ancient  appearance  of  the  exterior.  Such  of  the  party  as  were 
collectors  of  china  could  not  help  admiring  the  many  valuable 
specimens  of  oriental  and  English  porcelain  scattered  about  on  the 
various  cabinets  in  the  reception-rooms.     The  Castle  is  built  round 


418        CAMBRIAN  ARCH^OLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

m 

a  large  conrfcyard,  with  a  foantain  in  the  centre,  and  decorated 
round  the  walls  with  circular  terra-cotta  medallions  enclosing  male 
and  female  busts.  Tlie  great  dining-hall  is  of  the  Tudor  period. 
It  has  a  fireplace  similar  to  the  one  at  Llanmihangel.  In  the 
Archoeologia  Cambrensis  (vol.  xi,  Ser.  3,  p.  35)  an  interesting  account 
is  given  of  the  "  invention  of  the  cross"  inside  an  ash  tree,  blown 
down  in  a  storm  in  1559.  The  cruciform  marking  on  the  wood 
was  probably  accidental,  but  the  matter  caused  considerable  e;Lcite- 
ment  at  the  time. 

A  flight  of  steps  leads  down  the  precipitous  hill- side  from  the 
-Castle  to  the  Church.  The  ple^n  consistis  of  a  nave,  with  west 
tower  and  north  porch,  and  a  chancel  with  a  chapel  containing  the 
Stradling  tombs  on  the  north  side.  The  chancel- arch  is  a  round- 
headed  Norman  one.  In  all  the  other  churches  visited  during  the 
Cowbridge  Meeting  the  jambs  of  the  chancel-arches  were  either 
perfectly  square,  or  simply  chamfered,  but  here  the  angles  facing 
the  nave  are  decorated  with  a  small  column  having  a  capital  just 
below  the  abacus  moulding. 

The  font  is  ornamented  with  a  scale-pattern,  as  at  Llantwit 
Major  and  Kenfig.  The  font-cover  is  of  painted  wood,  and  on  the 
top  was  noticed  part  of  a  bronze  fifteenth  century  processional  (P) 
cross  with  the  symbols  of  the  four  Evangelists  on  the  ends.  It  has 
obviously  no  connection  with  the  font-cover,  and  should  be  removed 
and  placed  in  a  more  appropriate  position.  The  stone  altar,  with 
its  five  crosses,  still  remains.  There  is  also  a  piscina  and  a  bracket 
in  the  chancel,  a  rood- stair  in  the  nave,  and  stoup  near  the  north  door. 

The  chapel  on  the  north  side  of  the  chancel  contains  a  fine  altar- 
tomb.  On  the  west  wall  of  this  chapel  is  a  helmet  on  a  bracket, 
and  below  three  very  curious  memorial-tablets  of  painted  wood. 

The  fourteenth  century  cross  in  the  churchyard  is  of  graceful 
proportions,  and  quite  perfect.  It  is  of  the  same  type  as  the  one  at 
Llangan.  The  subjects  on  the  canopied  head  are  the  Crucifixion 
and  the  Virgin  and  Child. 

The  communion  chalice  and  cover  is  Elizabethan,  the  plate  in- 
scribed "E.  S.,  1710." 

The  day's  excursion  terminated  with  an  examination  of  Marcross 
Church,  lying  a  mile  north-west  of  St.  Donat's.  The  members 
fortified  themselves  for  the  drive  of  six  miles  back  to  Cowbridge  by 
tea,  hospitably  provided  at  the  Rectory  by  the  Rev.  Pryce  WUson 
Jones. 

Marcross  Church. — Although  a  very  small  building,  Marcross 
Church  is  one  of  exceptional  interest,  and  contains  some  unique 
features.  It  is  to  be  restored^  from  the  plans  of  Mr.  F.  R.  Kemp- 
son,  F.R.I.B.A.,  who,  being  one  of  the  party  on  this  occasion,  was 
called  upon  to  say  a  few  words  about  the  architecture  of  the  struc- 
ture.     The  plan  consists  of  a  nave,  with  west  tower  and  south 

^  The  estimated  cost  of  the  restoration  is  £550.  Subscriptions  should 
be  sent  to  the  Rev.  P.  R.  Jones,  Marcross  Rectory,  Bridgend. 


COWBRIDGE   MEETING. — ^REPORT.  419 

porcb,  and  a  chancel.  The  tower  has  a  saddle-backed  roof,  like 
many  others  iti  the  district.  The  south  doorway  and  chancel -arch 
are  Norman,  their  appearance  being  clearly  shown  on  Mr.  Worth - 
ington  Smith's  careful  drawings.  The  south  doorway  has  a  billet- 
moulding  and  grotesque  heads  at  the  terminations.  The  moulding 
of  the  chancel-arch  has  a  unique  peculiarity.  On  each  side  next 
the  springing  the  roll-moulding  follows  the  curve  of  the  arch,  but  at 
the  top  it  suddenly  changes  into  four  bold  chevrons.  The  stone 
screen  between  the  jambs  of  the  chancel-arch  is  also  remarkable. 

There  is  a  pillar-stoup  in  the  nave  with  a  top  shaped  like  a 
Norman  cushion- capital.  The  font  is  round,  with  a  roll-moulding 
at  the  top  and  bottom ;  it  is  probably  Norman.  The  base  of  the 
churchyard  cross  is  now  used  to  support  a  sun-dial.  A  low  side- 
window  for  lepers  is  to  be  seen  in  the  chancel.  The  registers  date 
from  1737. 


EVENING  MEETING,   THURSDAY,  AUGUST   16th. 

At  the  evening  meeting,  which  was  again  held  in  the  Town  Hall, 
the  Ven.  Archdeacon  Thomas,  who  presided,  gave  a  very  interest- 
ing resume  of  what  had  been  seen  on  the  two  previous  excursions. 
Speaking  of  Ewenny  Priory,  he  referred  to  the  absence  of  charters 
and  documents  relating  to  it,  and  appealed  to  local  antiquaries  to 
do  their  best  to  make  good  the  deficiency.  He  also  dwelt  upon  the 
desirability  of  completing  the  restoration  of  Llaatwit  Church,  the 
present  state  of  the  western  portion  of  which  did  not  reflect  much 
credit  on  the  inhabitants  of  so  rich  a  district  as  the  Yale  of 
Glamorgan.  He  hoped  that  when  the  Association  next  visited 
Llantwit  they  would  not  have  again  to  complain  of  the  neglected 
state  of  .the  most  remarkable  building  in  South  Wales. 

After  Mr.  Stephen  W.  Williams  and  Mr.  Seymour  Lucas,  A.R.A., 
had  delivered  some  valuable  comments  on  the  style  of  the  military 
and  civil  costume  of  the  effigies  seen  during  the  excursions,  the 
following  papers  were  read : — "The  Social  Condition  of  Glamorgan- 
shire during  the  Tudor  Period",  by  Mr.  David  Jones ;  "St.  Pagan's 
Fight",  by  Mr.  E.  Laws.  These  will  appear  in  the  Archasologia 
CamhrensU  in  due  course. 

When  Mr.  Jones  of  Wallington  had  concluded  his  paper,  Mr. 
Banks  said  that  the  paper  was  of  mach  interest  to  him,  as  it 
afforded  additional  information  on  a  subject  to  which  he  had 
recently  turned  his  attention,  the  state  of  the  Welsh  border  at  an 
early  period.  In  the  reign  of  Edward  lY  the  Commons  petitioned 
the  King  to  consider  the  oppression  and  wrongs  to  which  his  sub- 
jects of  the  land  adjoining  Wales  were  subject  from  the  outrages  of 
Welshmen,  favoured  by  those  who  had  the  custody  of  castles  there. 
Soon  afterwards,  with  a  view  to  the  better  government  of  Wales 
and  its  marches,  the  King  sent  his  infant  sons,  Edward,  Prince  of 
Wales,  and  his  brother,  under  the  governorship  of  their  uncle,  Earl 
5th  sbr.,  vol.  v.  29 


420  CAMBRIAN  ARCH^OLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

Kivers,  to  Ludlow  Castle,  and  appointed  John  Aloock,  Bishop  of 
Worcester,  President  of  the  Princes'  Council,  who  exercised  aotho- 
rity  and  made  ordinances  for  the  government  of  the  Principality 
and  the  border  country.  The  two  Princes  remained  at  Ludlow  until 
the  King's  death,  when  they  fell  into  the  power  of  their  uncle, 
Bichard,  Duke  of  Gloucester,  and  shortly  afterwards  were,  accord- 
ing to  general  supposition,  murdered  in  the  Tower.  Henry  VII 
sent  his  son,  Arthur,  Prince  of  Wales,  at  an  early  age,  to  Ludlow 
Castle,  and  appointed  William  Smith,  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  Lord 
President  of  nis  Council.  Other  Presidents  succeeded  him.  In 
the  26th  of  Henry  YIII,  Roland  Lee,  Bishop  of  Lichfield  and 
Coventry,  was  appointed  Lord  President,  and  at  once  took  a  more 
active  part  than  any  of  his  predecessors.  To  him  are  due  the 
series  of  remedial  statutes  relating  to  Wales,  commencing  the  year 
after  his  appointment,  which,  among  other  matters,  were  directed 
to  the  prevention  of  the  escape  of  murderers  and  robbers  from  England 
across  the  Severn  into  South  Wales  and  the  Forest  of  Dean  ;  for  re- 
dress of  false  imprisonment  by  the  officers  of  the  Lords  Marchers ;  and 
for  the  prevention  of  any  person  wearing  (except  on  a  hue  and  cry) 
weapons,  privy  coats,  or  defensive  armour.  Thieves  and  felons 
were  brought  to  justice  from  remote  parts  of  Wales  to  Ludlow,  or 
an  adjoining  English  county.  There  is  a  letter  of  Lee  addressed  to 
Secretary  Cromwell  which  gives  a  long  list  of  the  names  of  male- 
factors in  Monmouthshire  who  were  protected  and  aided  in  their  felon- 
ious m.alpractices  by  Sir  Walter  Herbert.  Hitherto  the  Council  had 
discharged  its  functions  solely  by  an  exercise  of  the  royal  preroga- 
tive. A  statute  was  passed,  while  Lee  held  office,  which  legalised 
the  Council,  and  enabled  it  to  transact  such  causes  and  matters  as 
should  be  assigned  to  it  by  the  ordinances,  which  the  sovereign 
should  from  time  to  time  make.  More  was  done  by  Sir  Henry 
Sydney,  who  was  appointed  Lord  President  by  Queen  Elizabeth  in 
1559,  and  held  office  for  the  long  period  of  twenty-seven  years. 
By  his  prudent  administration  in  the  removal  of  grievances  and 
redress  of  wrongs,  he  succeeded  in  bring^ing  Wales  and  the  border 
into  a  state  of  tranquillity  and  order. 

The  meeting  then  terminated  with  the  usual  votes  of  thanks. 


EXCURSION,   FRIDAY,  AUGUST   17th. 

The  direction  chosen  for  the  excursion  on  this,  the  last  day  of 
the  Cowbridge  Meeting,  which,  like  its  predecessors,  proved  beauti- 
fully fine,  was  eastwards  along  the  road  to  Llandaffi  Passing  Bon- 
vilston,  the  village  of  St.  Nicholas  was  reached,  at  a  distance  of  six 
miles  from  Cowbridge.  Here  the  carriages  left  the  turnpike-road 
and  turned  southwards,  in  order  to  examine  the  celebrated  crom- 
lechs between  St.  Nicholas  and  St.  Lythan's.  At  the  head  of  the 
valley  in  which  this  remarkable  group  of  prehistoric  remains  is  to 
be  found,  a  very  perfect  British  camp,  near  Cottrell  House,  can  be 


COWBRIDGE   MEETING. — REPORT.  421 

clearly  soen  from  the  road  on  the  north  side.  Jnst  below  the  camp, 
near  a  pond  on  the  opposite  or  south  side  of  the  road,  is  a  large 
isolated  block  of  limestone,  partially  embedded  in  the  turf  in  a 
slanting  position.  There  is  nothing  to  indicate  that  it  has  been 
placed  there  artificially,  bnt,  from  its  proximity  to  the  other  rude 
stone  monuments,  it  may  have  been  in  some  way  connected  with 
them.  The  pool  on  the  brink  of  which  the  stone  stands  is  the 
source  of  the  Dyffryn  brook,  and  it  has  been  suggested  that  the 
name  Dyffryn-golwg,  occurring  lower  down  the  valley,  shows  that 
the  place  was  associated  with  some  kind  of  primitive  worship. 
The  soundness  of  this  etymology  may,  however,  be  doubted. 

The  Cromlechs  between  SL  Nicholas  and  St,  LytharCs, — The  first 
cromlech  inspected  stands  within  a  plantation  three-quarters  of  a 
mile  south  of  St.  Nicholas.  It  is  partially  buried  in  what  appears 
to  be  a  large  oval  mound  of  earth  and  stones.  The  monument  con- 
sists of  a  capstone  of  irregular  shape,  22  ft.  long  by  15  ft.  wide  by 
3  fl.  thick,  supported  on  four  uprights  forming  three  sides  of  a 
chamber  16  ft.  long  by  12  ft.  wide  by  5  ft.  high.  In  the  adjoining 
field  are  several  other  blocks  of  stone  that  may  be  parts  of  an 
avenue,  or  ruined  cromlechs.  The  whole  site  would  be  well  worth 
exploring  thoroughly.  The  second  cromlech  visited  lies  in  the 
middle  of  a  field  about  a  mile  south  of  the  one  just  described,  and 
half  a  mile  south-west  of  St.  Lythan's.  Although  of  smaller  size 
than  the  other,  its  appearance  is  far  more  striking,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  it  stands  by  itself  without  any  covering  of  earth.  The 
capstone  is  14  ft.  long  by  12  ft.  wide  and  1  fb.  6  in.  thick,  resting  on 
three  supports  forming  the  sides  of  a  chamber  7  ft.  long  by  4  to  6 
ft.  wide  by  7  ft.  high.  This  cromlech  is  a  very  good  example  of 
the  class  to  which  it  belongs,  and  is  not  unlike  Kit*s  Ooty  House, 
in  Kent.  The  stone  used  in  the  construction  of  all  the  megalithic 
monuments  between  St.  Nicholas  and  St.  Lytlian's  is  magnesian 
limestone  of  the  district.  Illustrations  and  descriptions  of  the 
cromlechs  will  be  found  in  the  Archceologia  Gamhrensis  (vol.  iii, 
Ser.  4,  p.  81 ;  vol.  v,  Ser.  4,  p.  71 ;  and  vol.  vi,  Ser.  4,  p.  173). 
By  special  request  Mrs.  Thomas  Allen  read  out  the  account  there 
given  for  the  benefit  of  the  members  assembled  on  the  spot. 

A  move  was  next  made  for  St.  Lythan's  Church,  the  peculiarities 
of  which  were  explained  by  Mr.  J.  P.  Seddon. 

St»  Lythan's  Church, — The  plan  consists  of  a  nave,  with  west 
tower  and  south  porch,  and  a  chancel  with  south  aisle.  The  tower 
has  a  saddle-back  roof.  The  south  aisle  of  the  chancel  is  separated 
from  the  chancel  by  two  flat  segmental  arches  supported  on  massive 
round  piers  of  very  archaic  appearance,  perhaps  Norman.  The 
chancel  and  tower  arches  are  pointed.  The  font  is  Norman,  tub- 
shaped,  and  ornamented  with  a  chevron  pattern.  It  is  2  ft.  6  in.  in 
diameter  and  3  ft.  high.  There  is  a  stoup  inside  the  south  door ; 
also  corbels  and  light  for  rood-loft.  The  commanion-plate  is  Eliza- 
bethan, inscribed — *'  Saincte  Leythan,  1677."  The  registers  are  on 
paper,  dating  from  1748. 

29 » 


422  CAMBRIAN  ARCH^OLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

The  party  next  proceeded  to  St.  Fagan's,  three  miles  north  of 
St.  Lythan's,  where  luncheon  was  partaken  of  at  the  "Pljmonth 
Arms",  and  the  Church  and  Castle  explored  under  the  able  guidance 
of  the  Rector,  the  Rev.  W.  David.  Subsequently,  some  of  the 
members  walked  a  mile  out  of  the  village  to  inspect  the  site  of  the 
battle  of  St.  Fagan's,  being  thus  enabled  to  realise  more  vividly  the 
brilliant  picture  of  the  fight  given  in  Mr.  Edward  Laws'  paper  on 
the  previous  evening. 

Walking  through  the  village,  Mr.  David,  who  is  the  repository 
of  mucb  published  and  unpublished  folk-lore,  told  of  how  the  loyal 
St.  Faganites  turned  out  as  one  man  to  join  the  Royal  forces,  and 
how  that  after  the  fatal  day  there  were  no  fewer  than  sixty-seven 
widows  ;  thus  it  must  have  been  that  nearly  the  whole  male  popu- 
lation was  killed.  Climbing  a  bank,  the  party  were  shown  the 
field,  called  to  this  day  Cae  Meirch,  where  the  Parliamentary 
cavalry  camped  the  night  before  the  battle,  just  out  of  sight  of  the 
Welsh  forces,  gathered  on  an  eminence  now  cut  through  by  the 
new  Barry  line.  With  lively  imaginations  at  work,  the  visitors 
filled  in  the  details  and  fought  the  fight  over  again.  At  least  one 
good  suggestion  came  of  the  trip.  One  account  said  that  the 
Welsh  were  the  first  to  attack,  while  another  held  that  the  first  to 
advance  were  the  Parliamentarians,  who  sent  out  a  forlorn  hope. 
On  viewing  the  ground  the  two  accounts  at  once  confirmed  the  one 
the  other,  for  under  the  circumstances  nothing  would  be  more 
probable  than  that  the  Parliamentary  soldiers  should  send  out  a 
forlorn  hope  to  outflank  the  Welsh  in  their  strong  position,  and 
that  the  latter,  seeing  the  move,  should  make  the  correct  counter- 
stroke  and  strike  at  once  at  the  main  body  of  their  antagonists.  In 
the  walk  some  very  peculiar  things  were  told.  In  one  case  an  old 
man,  who  had  been  in  Mr.  David's  service,  was  told  when  a  boy, 
by  an  old  farmer,  that  when  he  first  took  his  farm,  about  the 
middle  of  the  last  century,  he  found  in  a  hollow  tree  a  large  number 
of  rusty  muskets  and  swords ;  while  in  another  case — and  this  not 
more  than  thirty- five  years  ago— another  farmer  had  come  across 
stones  marking  where  some  of  the  more  distinguished  men  fell. 
Goth  as  he  was,  he  had  them  broken  up  as  cumberers  of  the 
ground.  At  the  farm  of  Stocklands,  still  existing,  the  victorious 
Parliamentarians  are  said  to  have  gone,  tired  and  hungry,  and, 
finding  a  batch  of  bread  baking,  took  it  out  of  the  ovens  and  ate  up 
the  whole  of  the  household  store.  With  such  interesting  anecdotes 
the  way  back  to  the  "  Plymouth  Arms"  was  beguiled. 

The  Rev.  W.  David  exhibited  a  beautiful  looped  and  socketed 
bronze  celt,  found  some  years  ago  at  St.  Pagan's.  This  relic  would 
surely  be  of  more  value  if  deposited  in  the  Cardiff  Museum  than 
remaining  in  private  hands,  where  it  is  only  exhibited  occasionally 
to  friends  of  the  owner. 

St.  FagarCs  Church  and  Castle, — The  church  has  been  well  restored 
by  the  late  Mr.  Q.  E.  Street,  who  added  the  north  aisle  to  the  nave. 
The  plan,  before  the  restoration,  in  1860,  consisted  of  a  nave,  with 


COWBRIDGE   MEETING. — REPORT.  423 

west  tower  and  south  porch ,  and  a  chancel.  The  earliest  portions 
are  the  Norman  arches  in  the  north  wall  of  the  chancel  and  over 
the  sonth  doorway  of  the  nave.  The  chancel  and  tower-arches  are 
Pointed.  The  best  work  in  the  bnilding  is  of  the  Decorated  period, 
the  sedilia  and  the  tracery  of  the  windows  in  the  nave  being  par- 
ticularly fine.  The  bracket  for  the  rood-loft,  with  a  head  carved 
upon  it,  against  the  jamb  of  one  of  the  windows  in  the  south  wall 
of  tlie  nave,  is  a  curious  feature.  The  old  cradle-roof  of  the 
chancel  still  remains.  The  font  is  octagonal,  with  Perpendicular 
panelling.  There  is  a  stoup  inside  the  south  door  of  the  nave,  and 
an  arched  aumbry  in  the  south  wall  of  the  chancel. 

Since  the  church  at  St.  Fagan's  was  built  in  the  twelfth  century, 
it  is  probable  that  the  original  castle  was  also  Norman.  The  first 
occupant  of  the  castle  of  whom  any  record  has  been  kept  was 
H.  Ligon  de  Vele,  lord  of  the  place  in  1320,  and  it  remained  in  the 
possession  of  the  same  family  down  to  1475,  when  Alice,  daughter 
of  Robert  Vele  of  Charfield,  and  sole  heiress  of  St.  Fagan's,  married 
David  Matthew  of  Radyr.  Leland,  writing  of  his  visit  in  1535, 
says :  **  The  Castelle  of  S.  Fagan  standith  on  a  little  hille ;  and  a 
part  of  it  yet  standith.  It  was,  about  GO  yeare  ago,  in  the  hands  of 
one  Davy  Matthew ;  and  then  it  came  by  heires  G-eneral  to  divers 
co-partioners.     Benyon  of  the  Forest  of  Dene  hath  part  of  it." 

The  present  manor-house  was  built  on  the  site  of  the  Castle  by 
Dr.  John  Gibbon,^  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth.  Sir  William  Herbert 
bought  it  from  Morgan  Gibbon,  and  subsequently  sold  it  to  Sir  E. 
Lewis,  in  1616.  The  estate  passed  into  the  possession  of  Archer, 
afterwards  third  Earl  of  Plymouth,  on  his  marriage,  in  1730,  with 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Sir  Thomas  Lewis,^  the  last  male  heir. 
Lord  Windsor,  the  present  owner,  is  fifth  in  descent  from  the  third 
Earl  of  Plymouth. 

The  series  of  sharply- pointed  gables  repeated  round  two  sides  of 
the  St.  Fagan's  manor-house  give  a  quaint  vandyked  appearance  to 
the  sky-line  of  the  roof  as  seen  from  below.  All  that  now  remains 
of  the  ancient  feudal  stronghold  is  a  piece  of  straight  wall  with  an 
embattled  parapet  in  front  of  the  house.  The  plan  of  the  outer 
ward,  of  which  this  wall  formed  part  of  the  defence,  was  shaped 
like  the  letter  D,  the  straight  portion  measuring  182  ft.,  and  the 
greatest  diameter  156  ft.  Passing  through  a  gateway  in  the  old 
wall,  a  trim-shaven  lawn,  with  a  cylindrical  leaden  tank  raised  on 
two  steps  in  the  centre,  is  seen  facing  the  principal  entrance  to  the 
mansion  (see  Mr.  Banks*  photograph,  hft-e  reproduced).  The  tank 
is  20  ft.  in  circumference  and  3  ft.  9  in.  high,  ornamented  with  a 
band,  6^  in.  deep,  richly  embossed  round  the  top,  and  a  double  tier 
of  arcading  below  filled  in  with  delicate  scrolls  of  foliage.  On  one 
side  also  are  the  royal  arms,  with  the  date  1620,  and  on  the  other 

^  During  the  restoration  of  the  church,  in  1860,  some  of  the  tombstones 
of  the  Gibbons  were  found  underneath  the  Castle  pew. 

^  The  inscription  on  the  tenor  bell  in  the  church  shows  that  the  peal  was 
the  gift  of  Sir  Thomas  Lewis  in  1737. 


424  CAMBRIAN  ARCH^OLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

the  arms  of  Sir  Edward  Lewis.  This  cistern  is  one  of  the  largest 
and  at  the  same  time  the  most  beantif  ally  executed  specimens  of 
ornamental  lead -casting  to  be  found  anywhere.  It  was  probably 
made  in  the  same  way  as  the  Norman  leaden  fonts,  by  using  a 
series  of  wooden  stamps,  which  were  pressed  into  the  surface  of  the 
mould  to  produce  the  pattern.  Sometimes  the  same  pattern  was 
thus  repeated  over  and  over  again,  as  on  the  tank  at  St.  Fagan's, 
where  it  will  be  noticed  that  in  one  instance  the  stamp  has  been 
reversed  accidentally.  Much  interesting  information  on  this  sub- 
ject is  given  by  Mr.  J.  L.  Andr^,  in  the  Journal  of  the  British 
ArchcBological  Institute  (vol.  xlv,  p.  109)  ;  in  the  Sussex  Archceo- 
logical  Collections  (vol.  xxxii) ;  in  the  Surrey  Archoeological  Collections 
(vol.  ix) ;  and  by  Dr.  J.  Charles  Cox,  in  the  Journal  of  the  Derby- 
shire ArchcBological  Society  (1887). 

The  interior  of  St.  Fagan's  house  contains  some  rooms  with  old  oak 
panelling  and  geometrically  ornamented  plaster  ceiUngs.  In  the 
drawing-room  is  a  handsomely  carved  oak  chimney-piece,  having 
upon  it  a  shield  bearing  twenty-five  quarterings  of  the  arms  of  the 
family  of  Lewis  of  Van. 

After  seeing  the  interior  under  the  guidance  of  the  Rev.  W. 
David,  who,  in  the  unavoidable  absence  of  Lord  Windsor,  had  been 
requested  to  act  as  cicerone,  the  party  were  conducted  to  the 
terrace  behind  the  house.  Here  the  precipitous  nature  of  the 
ground  must  have  formed  a  strong  natural  defence  in  days  gone 
by.  It  is  now  laid  out  chiefly  with  a  view  to  making  a  beautiful 
pleasure-ground,  with  steps  and  terraced  walks  leading  down  to  a 
fish-pond  below. 

From  St.  Fagan's  a  drive  of  two  miles  and  a  half  brought  the 
party  to  Llandaff,  where  they  were  hospitably  entertained  at  tea  by 
the  Dean.  An  inspection  of  the  Cathedral  and  the  early  inter- 
laced cross  in  the  Bishop's  garden  brought  the  last  day's  excursion 
to  a  pleasant  termination. 

Llandaff  Cathedral, — For  a  detailed  description  of  the  architec- 
ture of  Llandafif  Cathedral  reference  may  be  made  to  Mr.  £.  A. 
Freeman's  work  on  the  subject  and  to  the  Archoeologia  Camhrensis 
(vols,  i,  ii,  and  vol.  ii.  New  Ser.). 

Mr.  J.  P.  Seddon,  who  has  promised  to  write  a  paper  dealing 
more  fully  with  the  Cathedral  on  a  futare  occasion,  delivered  the 
following  address : — 

Llandaff  Cathedral,  although  unable  to  take  high  rank  as  com- 
pared with  English  cath^rals,  and  not  even,  the  first  among  those 
of  the  Principality  of  Wales,  is  yet  unique  in  many  respects, 
extremely  beautiful  in  parts,  and  very  interesting  throughout. 
Like  its  compeers  in  Wales,  it  is  situated  in  a  secluded  and  shel- 
tered position,  beneath  one  of  the  hills  which  border  the  valley  of 
the  Taff,  instead  of  crowning  any  conspicuous  height,  as  is  more 
commonly  the  case.  No  doubt  this  was  due  to  the  unsettled  con- 
dition of  this  part  of  the  country  when  the  monastery  was  founded, 
which  compelled  the  monks  to  choose  a  spot  like  those  that  the 


COWBRIDGB   MEETING. — REPORT.  425 

Cistercians  favoured,  rather  than  what  would  display  to  greater 
advantage  a  secular  cathedral.  Of  the  first  British  church  huilt 
here  by  Lucius  in  the  second  century  only  tradition  remains ;  as  is 
the  case  also  with  the  second,  said  to  have  been  built  by  Dubritius 
in  the  sixth  century.  But  of  that  which  Urban  (consecrated  in 
1108,  and  died  in  1134)  erected  in  the  late  Norman  style  several 
remarkable  fragments  have  been  preserved  in  the  rich  semicircular 
arch  separating  the  presbytery  from  the  lady-chapel,  which,  together 
with  some  smaller  ones  near  it,  are  no  doubt  in  their  original 
position,  but  two  fine  Norman  doorways  that  have  been  moved 
serve  now  as  entrances  to  the  nave-aisles.  This  church  of  Urban 
was  extensive  as  well  as  highly  decorated  :  its  foundations,  recently 
found,  prove  it  to  have  been  wider  than  the  present  church.  The 
nave,  with  its  extremely  fine  west  front,  is  of  Early  English  archi- 
tecture of  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century.  This  is  flanked 
by  towers  of  different  dates  and  unequal  height;  the  resulting 
picturesqueness  is  in  character  with  the  site  and  its  surroundings. 
The  north-east  tower  is  the  only  portion  of  the  church  in  the  Per- 
pendicular style,  and  was  built  by  Jasper  Tudor.  The  south- 
western tower,  which  replaces  one  of  early  character  long  since 
destroyed,  is  entirely  modem,  from  the  design  of  the  late  John 
Prichard,  Cathedral  architect,  and  is  crowned  with  a  lofty  spire. 
The  nave  has  a  nobly  simple  arcade  dividing  it  from  its  aisles, 
which  are  of  late  Decorated,  the  windows  having  reversed  ogee 
Pointed  and  reticulated  traceries.  The  presbytery  is  also  Decorated, 
but  the  beautiful  lady-chapel  beyond  it  is  of  Early  Geometrical 
Gothic,  and  the  only  vaulted  portion.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the 
structure  is  almost  like  a  large  parochial  church  in  character,  being 
devoid  of  transepts ;  though  it  would  appear  that  Bishop  Urban's 
church  had  transepts  with  arcaded  openings  of  the  proportions  of 
windows,  but  unglazed,  in  walls  of  division  separating  them  from 
the  choir ;  and  there  are  evidences  of  towers  having  been  intended 
and  prepared  for,  if  not  actually  bailt,  on  their  western  sides. 

At  the  commencement  of  this  century  the  Cathedral  had  been  allowed 
to  fall  into  a  lamentable  state  of  decay,  and  in  the  beginning  of  the 
eighteenth  century  a  Mr.  Wood  of  Bath  was  consulted  to  remodel 
it.  That  architect  erected  within  it  a  sort  of  Italian  temple  in 
plaster ;  and,  though  want  of  funds  fortunately  prevented  the  com- 
pletion of  his  scheme  to  convert  it  into  "an  exceeding  fine  church", 
and  to  take  down  its  two  steeples,  and  then  ''to  finish  with  a  rustic 
porch",  yet,  according  to  a  cotemporary  account,  he  thus  covered 
over  about  two-thirds  of  the  church,  "in  more  regular  and  exact 
proportion  than  the  old  church,  which  is  agreed  on  all  hands  to  be 
too  long  for  its  breadth."  The  demolition  of  this  Palladian  t«mple, 
and  the  restoration  of  the  Gothic  architecture  of  the  Cathedral, 
which  has  been  conducted  with  the  most  scrupulous  conservative 
care,  has  been  the  work  of  this  present  century,  and  now,  both 
externally  and  internally,  it  is  nearly  complete,  although  there  is 
still  room  and  need  foi  decorative  treatment  within.     It  contains. 


426        CAMBRIAN  ARCH^OLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

however,  one  artistic  gem  which  has  perhaps  no  rival  in  any  other 
cathedral  in  the  British  Isles,  namely,  the  paintings  by  Rossetti  in 
the  reredos ;  forming,  as  it  were,  a  triptych,  with  the  subject  of  the 
Nativity  in  the  central  panel,  and  of  David  as  shepherd  and  as 
king  in  the  side  ones.  There  are  also  several  painted  windows  of 
great  excellence  by  Messrs.  Morris  and  Marshall,  from  cartoons  by 
Bnme  Jones  and  other  artists  of  eminence. 


EVENING  MEETING,   FRIDAY,   AUGUST  17th. 

The  concluding  evening  meeting,  of  members  only,  was  held  in 
the  Town  Hall  at  8.30  p.m.,  for  the  transaction  of  the  business  of 
the  Association.  The  chair  having  been  taken  by  the  Ven.  Arch- 
deacon Thomas,  one  of  the  Editors  was  called  upon  to  read  the 
annual  report. 

ANNUAL   REPORT  OP  THE   ASSOCIATION   FOR   1888. 

"  The  present  meeting  at  Cowbridge  is  the  fifth  whicb  has  been 
held  in  the  county  of  Glamorgan,  the  pi'evious  ones  having  taken 
place  at  Cardiff  in  1849;  Bridgend,  1869;  Swansea,  1861,  1886. 
The  selection  of  Cowbridge  has  been  fully  justified  by  the  large  num- 
ber of  objects  of  areheeological  interest  set  down  on  the  programme 
of  the  excursions,  and  the  valuable  papers  on  the  history  of  the  dis- 
trict to  be  read  at  the  evening  meetings.  The  Association  is  also  to 
be  congratulated  in  having  secured  so  able  a  President  as  the  Lord 
Bishop  of  the  diocese  of  Llandaff.  Now  that  most  of  the  larger 
towns  in  Wales  have  been  visited  during  the  annual  meetings,  it 
seems  worthy  of  consideration  whether  in  future  it  may  not  be 
desirable  to  tiake  some  of  the  smaller  places,  from  which  less  known 
but  equally  interesting  neighbourhoods  could  be  explored.  It  is  a 
matter  of  regret  that  a  local  museum  was  not  formed  at  Cowbridge 
this  year,  but  it  had  to  be  abandoned  owing  to  unforeseen  difficulties 
encountered  by  the  Local  Secretary. 

**  The  condition  of  the  Association  as  regards  the  number  of  mem- 
bers is  satisfactory ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  if  the  Local  Secretaries 
and  others  would  use  their  influence  to  induce  new  members  to 
join  our  body,  its  strength  might  be  considerably  increased.  At 
present  there  are  286  Associates  altogether,  including  the  following 
new  members  whose  names  have  been  submitted  for  election. 

"English  and  Foreign. 

"  Howell,  Tudor,  Esq.,  6,  King*s  Bench  Walk,  Temple,  E.G. 
Jones,  IDavid,  Esq.,  Norton  Lodge,  Wallington,  Surrey. 
Rennes,  Bibliotheque  de,  France. 

"North  Wales. 

"  Davies,  D.  G.,  Esq.,  B.A.,  200,  High  Street,  Bangor. 
Griffith,  J.  E.,  Esq.,  Vronheulog  Villa,  Upper  Bangor. 
Keene,  A.  J.,  Esq.,  Mold. 


COWBRIDGE   MEETING. — REPORT.  427 


"South  Wales. 

"  Lisbume,  the  Countess  of,  Crosswood,  Aberystwith. 
Dmmmond,  Sir  James,  Bart.,  Edwinsford,  Llandeilofawr. 
Jones,  Rev.  Ebenezer,  Golden  Grove  Vicarage,  Carmarthen 
James,  Ivor,  Esq.,  Registrar,  University  College,  Cardiff. 
Jones,  Oliver  Henry,  Esq.,  Fonmon  Castle,  Cardiff. 
Kirkbouse,  Rev.  H.,  Cyfartbfa  Vicarage,  Merthyr  Tyd61. 
Morgan,  Rev.  Lewis,  M.A.,  St.  Hilary  Rectory,  Cowbridge. 
De  Winton,  W.  S.,  Esq.,  Haroldston,  Haverfordwest. 
Ricketts,  Rev.  John,  J^I.A.,  Llangyullo  Vicarage,  Knighton. 
Newell,  Rev.  E.  J.,  Collegiate  School,  Newport. 

''The  Marches. 
"  Kempson,  P.  R.,  Esq.,  F.R.T.B.A.,  Bromyard,  Hereford. 

"We  have  to  regret  the  loss  of  the  following  members,  deceased : — 

"  C.  Octavius  S.  Morgan,  Esq.,  F.R  S.,  F.S.  A. 
The   Right.  Hon.  A.  J.  B.  Beresford   Hope,  Esq.,   M.P., 

M.A.,  F.S.A. 
Matthew  Holbeche  Bloxham,  Esq.,  F.S. A. 
Howel  Gwyn,  Esq.,  M.A. 
Major  A.  E.  L.  Lawson  Lowe 

"  The  changes  proposed  amongst  the  officers  of  the  Association 
are  as  follows : — 

"  Committee. 

"It  is  proposed  to  re-elect  the  retiring  members  of  the  Com- 
mittee, namely : — 

"  H.  W.  Lloyd,  Esq.,  M.A. 
Morris  C.  Jones,  Esq.,  F.S. A. 
Rev.  Canon  M.  H.  Lee,  M.A. 

"  Trustees. 

"It  is  proposed  to  elect  Stanley  Leighton,  Esq.,  M.A.,  M.P., 
F.S.A.,  a  Trustee,  in  place  of  C.  Octavius  Morgan,  Esq.,  F.R.S., 
F.S.A.,  deceased. 

"Corresponding  Secretaries. 

"It  is  proposed  to  elect  W.  F.  Wakeman,  Esq.,  Corresponding 
Secretary  for  Ireland,  in  place  of  the  Rev.  James  Graves,  M.A., 
deceased. 

"Local  Secretaries. 

"It  is  proposed  to  elect  as  Local  Secretaries :  for  Anglesey ^ 
Thomas  Prichard,  Esq.,  in  place  of  the  Rev.  R.  Williams  Mason ; 
for  Merionethshire^  the  Rev.  J.  E.  Davies,  in  place  of  Owen  Richards, 
Esq. ;  for  Carmarthenshire ^  Alcwyn  Eians,  Esq.,  in  place  of  the 


428         CAMBRIAN  ARCH^OLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

Rev.  Benjamin  Williams ;  for  Glamorganshire^  Thomas  Powel,  Esq., 
in  place  of  J.  T.  D.  Llewelyn,  Esq. ;  for  Femhrokeskirey  W.  S.  de 
Winton,  Esq.,  in  place  of  the  Rev.  J.  Tombs,  B.A. ;  for  Monmouth- 
shire,  the  Bev.  Benjamin  Williams,  in  place  of  T.  D.  Roberts,  Esq. ; 
and  for  the  Marches,  the  Rev.  C.  H.  Driukwater,  in  place  of  R. 
Kyrke  Penson,  Esq.,  F.S.A. 

"  The  literary  works  by  members  of  the  Cambrian  Archssological 
Association  published  during  the  past  year  include  Mr.  Edward 
Laws'  History  of  Little  England  beyond  Wales;  the  Yen.  Arch- 
deacon Thomas's  History  of  tlie  Diocese  of  8t,  jisaph  (S.P.C.K.)  ; 
Professor  J.  Rhys*  Hibbert  Lectures ;  and  Mr.  J.  A.  Corbett's  new 
edition  of  Rice  Merrick's  Boohe  of  Glamorganshire  Antiquities. 
Messrs.  Blades,  East,  and  Blades  have  also  issued  to  subscribers 
the  facsimile  of  the  MS.  of  the  Duke  of  BeauforVs  Progress  through 
Wales  in  1684,  published  under  the  direction  of  the  Cambrian 
Archasological  Association. 

"  The  excavations  at  Strata  Florida  Abbey,  begun  two  years  ago, 
have  lately  been  carried  on  most  energetically  by  Mr.  Stephen 
Williams,  as  will  be  seen  from  his  fully  illustrated  report  appear- 
ing in  the  number  of  the  Arch.  Camb.  for  January  1889.  The 
ground-plan  of  the  Abbey  has  been  entirely  made  out,  but  a  good 
deal  remains  yet  to  be  done  in  clearing  the  site  of  the  conventual 
buildings.  The  whole  of  the  excavations  have  been  fenced  in,  and 
further  precautions  are  to  be  taken  to  protect  the  ruins  from 
damage. 

"It  is  the  pleasant  duty  of  the  Editors  to  thank  those  members 
who  have  contributed  papers  and  other  matter  to  the  Journal  of  the 
Association,  thus  enabling  it  to  compare  favourably  with  the  publi- 
cations of  other  societies.  The  Editors,  however,  are  obliged  to 
complain  of  the  very  small  assistance  they  receive  &om  the  Local 
Secretaries.  With  two  or  three  exceptions,  the  Local  Secretaries 
never  communicate  with  the  Editors  from  one  year's  end  to  another. 
An  endeavour  was  made  within  the  last  few  months  to  improve 
this  state  of  things,  by  forwarding  the  following  letter  to  each  of 
the  Local  Secretaries : — 

"  *  Dear  Sir, — It  is  very  desirable  that  the  organisation  of  the 
Association  should  be  made  as  efficient  as  possible,  and  since  this 
depends  to  a  large  extent  on  the  exertions  of  the  Local  Secretaries, 
we  shall  feel  greatly  obliged  if  you  will  kindly  endeavour  to  assist 
the  Editors,  (1)  byreporting  any  new  discoveries  in  your  neigh- 
bourhood ;  (2)  by  sending  cuttings  from  local  newspapers  contain- 
ing matter  relating  to  Welsh  history  or  archeBology ;  (3)  by  point- 
ing out  objects  of  interest  which  Imve  not  yet  been  noticed  in  the 
Journal,  and  getting  photographs,  drawings,  and  descriptions  of 
them ;  (4)  by  calling  attention  to  any  acts  of  vandalism  you  may  have 
heard  of;  (6)  by  giving  information  about  proposed  or  completed 
restorations  of  churches ;  (6)  by  putting  persons  willing  to  help  in 
the  work  of  the  Association  (whether  members  or  not)  in  communi- 


COWBRIDGE   MEETING. — REPORT.  429 

cation  with  the  Editors ;  and  (7)  by  encouraging  new  members  to 
join  our  body. — We  remain,  dear  Sir,  yoors  faithfully, 

*The  Editors.' 

"  The  Index  of  the  Arch,  Camb,  is  ready  for  the  press,  and  will 
be  published  shortly. 

'*It  would  be  impossible  to  conclude  this  report  without  saying 
how  great  a  loss  the  Association  has  sustained  by  the  death  of  its 
late  Vice-President,  Mr.  Matthew  Holbeche  Bloxam.  He  will  be 
deeply  regretted  by  those  who  were  fortunate  enough  to  have  been 
numbered  amongst  his  intimate  friends ;  and  those  who  made  his 
acquaintance  at  our  annual  meetings  will  ever  cherish  pleasant 
remembrances  of  his  genial  companionship;  nor  will  they  forget 
the  benefit  received  from  the  vast  stores  of  knowledge  he  was  so 
ready  to  impart  to  others." 

The  ndoption  of  the  Report  was  moved,  seconded,  and  carried. 
Afterwards  the  following  motions  were  proposed,  seconded,  and 
carried : — 

(1)  That  the  next  annual  meeting  of  the  Association  be  held  in 
Brittany. 

(2)  That  the  wood-blocks  belonging  to  the  Association  be  re- 
moved from  Messrs.  Whiting  and  Co.'s  premises  in  Sardinia  Street 
to  Mr.  Clark's  office  in  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields,  and  insured  for  the 
sum  of  £100. 

(3)  That  Proceedings  be  exchanged  with  the  Bristol  and  Gloucester- 
shire Archaeological  Society. 

(4)  That  the  subscriptions  of  members  living  in  South  Wales  be 
received  by  Mr.  R.  W.  Banks  instead  of  by  Mr.  E.  Laws. 

(5)  That  tlie  receipt  of  Proceedings  of  Archaeological  Societies 
received  in  exchange  be  duly  acknowledged. 

(6)  That  £10  be  subscribed  by  the  Association  towards  the 
Strata  Florida  Excavation  Fund,  subject  to  the  favourable  report 
of  Mr.  E.  Laws. 

(7)  That  a  proposal  made  by  Mr.  Egerton  Phillimore  be  allowed 
to  stand  over. 

(8)  That,  in  reply  to  the  following  letter  from  the  Society  of 
Antiquaries,  Mr.  Edward  Owen  and  Mr.  J.  Romilly  Allen  be  ap- 
pointed delegates  to  the  proposed  Congress  for  the  better  organisa- 
tion of  ArchsBological  Research. 

"  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  London, 
"Burlington  House,  Piccadilly,  London,  W. 

"In  accordance  with  a  request  conveyed  in  a  memorial  from  a 
large  number  of  representative  members  of  various  Archaeological 
Societies  throughout  England  and  Wales,  the  President  and  Council 
of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  London  have  resolved  to  summon 
a  congress  of  delegates  of  the  leading  local  societies,  to  be  held  in 


430  CAMBRIAN  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

their  apartments  at  Barlington  Honse  on  a  day  in  the  ensuing 
autumn  hereafter  to  be  fixed. 

"Each  Society  will  be  requested  to  send  not  more  than  two 
delegates  to  the  Congress,  the  object  of  which  will  be  to  consider 
in  what  manner  to  promote — (1)  The  better  organisation  of  antiqua- 
rian research ;  and  (2)  the  preservation  of  ancient  monuments  and 
records.  It  is  thought  that  the  most  effective  means  of  obtaining 
these  results  will  be — (a)  To  establish  a  group  of  local  societies 
which  shall  be  in  correspondence  with  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of 
London ;  (6)  to  request  these  societies  to  report  from  time  to  time 
to  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  on  all  important  discoveries  within 
their  districts,  in  doing  which  the  Local  Secretaries  of  the  Society 
of  Antiquaries  will  be  ready  and  willing  to  afibrd  assistance ;  (o) 
to  encourage  the  formation  of  lists  of  ancient  objects  of  different 
kinds  in  each  local  society's  district,  and  to  assist  in  devising  the 
best  system  on  which  such  lists  can  be  drawn  up ;  (eZ)  to  consider 
in  what  manner  a  general  archaeological  survey  of  England  and 
Wales  by  counties,  on  the  plan  approved  of  by  the  Society  of 
Antiquaries  and  begun  in  Kent,  may  be  completed;  (e)  to  define 
the  limits  within  which  each  local  society  should  work ;  (/)  to 
promote  the  foundation  of  new  local  societies  where  none  exist,  and 
the  improvement  and  consolidation  of  existing  societies  where 
advisable. 

"  I  am  desired  to  invite  an  expression  of  opinion  from  your 
Society  on  the  proposals  above  recited,  and  to  ask  them  to  nomi- 
nate not  more  than  two  delegates,  who  would  attend  the  proposed 
Congress  should  your  Society  be  willing  to  co-operate  in  the 
undertaking. 

'*  On  the  receipt  of  the  answers  from  the  various  societies,  no 
time  will  be  lost  in  fixing  a  day  for  the  Congress. 

"  By  order  of  the  Council, 

"  Harold  Arthur  Dillon,  Secretary.'' 

(9)  That  a  new  list  of  members  be  prepared  and  issued  annually. 
The  proceedings  then  terminated. 


EXCURSION    TO    STRATA  FLORIDA,   MONDAY, 

AUGUST  20th. 

After  the  meeting  of  the  Cambrian  Archaeological  Association  at 
Cowbridge,  a  party  of  members  and  their  friends  was  formed  to 
visit  Strata  Florida  Abbey,  Cardiganshire,  the  ruins  of  which  have 
been  excavated  during  the  past  year,  under  the  superintendence  of 
Mr.  Stephen  Williams.  The  members  of  the  Cambrian  ArchsBo- 
logical  Association,  together  with  a  large  number  of  the  most  influ- 
ential persons  in  the  neighbourhood,  assembled  at  the  ruins.  The 
day  unfortunately  proving  wet,  the  formal  proceedings  were  held 


OOWBRIDGE   MEETING. — REPORT.  431 

in  the  farm-bonse  adjoining.     Mr.  Edward  Laws,  who  occupied  the 
chair,  was  the  first  speaker.     In  order  to  give  some  idea  of  the 
amount  of  work  already  done,  he  stated  that  about  £160  had  been 
spent  in  the  removal  of  3,500  cubic  yards  of  material.     After  com- 
plimenting Mr.  S.  Williams  on  the  excellent  results  that  had  been 
attained  inp  laying  bare  the  ground-plan  of  the  Abbey  Church,  he 
suggested  that  further  precautions  should  be  taken  to  preserve  the 
remains  from  spoliation  and  decay  by  fencing  in  the  buildings  and 
roofing  over  the  encaustic  tile  pavements.     He  concluded  by  hand- 
ing over  the  care  of  the  ruins  from  the  Cambrian  ArchsBological 
Association  to  the  local  committee,  under  whose  charge  they  were 
now  placed.     Mr.  Stephen  Williams  described  the  progress  of  the 
excavations  with  the  aid  of  a  large  plan  and  numerous  careful 
drawings  of  the  various  details  recovered.     The  whole  of  the  lower 
portions  of  the  piers  of  the  nave  were  now  laid  bare,  showing  that 
they  were  rectangular  for  about  6  ft.  above  the  floor-line  and  sur- 
mounted by  round,  clustered   pillars.      The  carved  capitals  and 
arch -mouldings  had  also  been  found  with  the  setting-out  lines  still 
visible  upon  them.     On  the  east  side  of  the  north  and  south  tran- 
septs were  six  chapels,  three  on  each  side  of  the  choir,  containing 
altars,  and  having  groined  roofs  with  carved  bosses.     The  encaustic 
pavements  in  these  chapels  were  exceedingly  fine  and  in  splendid 
condition,  being  of  thirteenth  century  date,  arranged  so  as  to  form 
coloured  patterns  of  great  beauty.     The  centre  of  the  nave  was 
still  untouched,  and  no  attempt  had  yet  been  made  to  trace  the 
plan  of  the  surrounding  conventual  buildings.    Mr.  Stephen  Williams 
hoped  that  funds  would  soon  be  forthcoming  to  bring  the  work  to 
a  successful  conclusion.     Mr.  J.  P.  Seddon  compared  the  architec- 
tural details  found  at  Strata  Florida  with  those  of  the  Cathedrals 
of  Llandaff  and  St.  David's.     He  pointed  out  that  the  sculpture  at 
Strata  Florida  was  of  a  remarkable  character,  as  exhibiting  tran- 
sitional forms  between  the  stiff  foliage  of  Norman  times  and  the 
graceful  flowing  lines  of  the  capitals  at  York  and  Lincoln.     The 
interlacing  of  the  leaves  and  stems  indicated  a  survival  of  Celtic 
feeling,     He  hoped  that  a  strenuous  eflbrt  would  be  made  to  pre- 
vent the  tile- pavements  from  being  injured,  as  they  were  quite 
unique.     Tourists  had  already  begun  to  show  the  cloven  hoof  by 
carrying  away  tiles  in  their  pockets,  thus  damaging  the  general 
effect  of  the  coloured  patterns  irretrievably.     If  energetic  means 
were  not  taken  to  put  a  stop  to  these  depredations,  there  would 
soon  be  nothing  left  of  a  specimen  of  decorative  flooring  the  like  of 
which  was  not  to  be  seen  anywhere  else,  in  either  England  or 
Wales.      Mr.  Bomilly  Allen  called  attention  to   the  exceedingly 
curious  series  of  graves  on  the  outside  of  the  east  wall  of  the  south 
transept.     Owing  to  the  dehru  of  the  walls  having  fallen  over  them 
they  had  been  preserved  intact  for  several  centuries,  thus  showing 
us  what  was  the  appearance  of  the  sepulchral  monuments  in  a 
churchyard  of  the  twelfth  century.     The  graves  were  placed  in  a 
long  row  parallel  to  the  east  wall  of  the  south  transept,  a  few  feet 


432         CAMBRIAN  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

from  it.  Each  grave  pointed  east  and  -west.  A  long  slab  of  slate 
with  a  plain  cross  was  laid  fiat  on  the  grave ;  at  the  foot  was  a 
small  npright  stone ;  and  at  the  head  an  upright  cross  of  Bath 
stone,  with  interlaced  work  carved  on  the  face.  The  dressing  of 
the  headstones  and  their  general  character  showed  that  thej  were 
probably  of  the  twelfth  century,  bnt  the  interlaced  work  was  evi- 
dently a  survival  of  a  previous  style.  Early  headstones  had  been 
found  at  Cambridge,  Hythe  in  Kent,  and  elsewhere ;  but  this  was 
the  only  instance  where  the  whole  of  each  monument  remained  in 
situ  exactly  as  it  was  six  hundred  years  ago.  Mr.  Willis-Bund 
spoke  on  behalf  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  expressing  his 
approval  of  the  way  in  which  the  work  had  been  carried  on.  He 
read  a  letter  from  Mr.  St.  John  Hope,  who  had  had  more  experi- 
ence, perhaps,  than  any  one  else  in  excavating  Cistercian  abbeys, 
insisting  upon  the  necessity  of  completing  the  work  at  Strata 
Florida,  in  order  to  throw  light  on  the  conventual  arrangements  of 
similar  buildings  elsewhere. 

The  proceedings  terminated  by  speeches  from  Mr.  Morris  Davies 
and  the  Mayor  of  Aberystwith,  representing  the  local  committee, 
who  accepted  the  responsibility  of  carrying  on  the  excavations  and 
fencing  in  the  ruins. 

The  following  copies  of  the  inscriptions  in  the  Stradling  Chapel 
at  St.  Donat's  have  been  supplied  by  the  Rev.  Rees  Williams  : — 

"  The  nndemame  Harry  Stradlin^re,  Knight,  went  on  Pilgrimage  to  Jem- 

ealem,  and  reoeived  the  order  of  the  Sepylcher  ther  as  his  Father Strad- 

linge,  Ejiight,  the  6.  of  that  name,  Granfather  William  Stradlinge,  Knight, 
the  2nd  of  that  name,  did,  and  dyed  on  He  of  Cypres  on  his  coming,  the  last 

of  Aug.  in  the  10  yere King  Edward  the  4th,  and  is  buried  ther  in  the 

Ciiie  of  Famagusta.  This  Sir  Hairy  sailing  from  his  house  in  Somersetshire 
to  his  house  in  Wales,  was  taken  prisoner  by  a  Brytaine  Pirate,  Colyndol- 
phyn,  whose  redemption  charges  named  him  in  2200  marks.  For  Paiment 
thereof  he  was  driven  to  sell  tne  Castle  and  Manor  of  Basselek  and  Sutton 
in  Monmouthshire,  and  two  Manors  in  Oxfordshire. 

"  He  died  before  he  was  26  years  of  age.  Anno  aeta  sve  24." 


"Here  lyeth  Thomas  Stradlinge,  Esquier,  sonne  to  Harry  Stradlinge, 
Knight,  and  Elizabeth  his  wife,  the  daughter  of  William  Thomas  of  Baglan 
in  the  County  of  Monmouth,  Knight,  who  dyed  at  Cardiff,  in  the  Monastery 
of  Preaching  Fryers,  the  8.  day  of  September  in  the  yere  of  Our  Lord  1480, 
whose  bones,  after  the  dissolution  of  the  said  Monastery,  Thomas  Stradlinge, 
Knight,  his  nephewe,  caused  to  be  taken  up  and  carried  to  Saint  Donatts, 
and  buried  in  the  chauncell  of  the  church  ther,  by  his  Sonne,  the  4  day  of 
June  in  the  yere  of  Our  Lord  1537 ;  and  afterwards  Edward  Stradlinge, 
Knight,  his  nephewe,  Sonne  of  the  6  of  that  name,  translated  the  said  bones 
out  of  the  chauncell  into  the  chappell  ther  in  the  yere  of  our  Lord  1573, 
after  whose  death  his  wife  married  with  Sir  Kees  ap  Thomas,  Knight  of  the 
Garter,  and  dyed  at  Picton  in  the  county  the  6  day  of  February  in  the  yere 
of  Our  Lord  1533,  and  was  buryed  at  Carmarthen  in  the  Church  of  the  Monas* 
teiy  of  Preaching  Fryers,  with  the  said  Sir  Bees  ap  Thomas,  her  husband." 

2. 

"  Here  lyeth  Edward  Stradlinge,  Knight,  the  4th  of  that  name,  Sonne  to 
Thomas  Stradlinge,  Esquier,  and  Jennet  his  wife,  the  daughter  of  Thomas 


COWBRIDOE   MEETING. — ^REPOET. 


433 


Mathewe  of  Bader  in  the  County  of  Glamorgan,  Esquier,  who  died  in  the 
Castell  of  St.  Donatts  the  8.  day  of  May  in  the  yere  of  Our  Lord  1533,  and 
was  buried  in  the  Chauncell  of  the  Church  ther,  whoa  bones  were  after 
translated  by  his  nephew,  Edward  Stradlinge,  Knight,  the  5  of  that  name, 
into  the  Chappell  ther  in  the  yere  of  Our  Lord  1573.  Also  here  lyeth  Elisa- 
beth his  wife,  daughter  to  Thomas  Arundell  of  Fanheyron  in  the  county  of 
Comewall,  Knight,  who  died  in  childbed  at  Merthermawre  the  20th  day  of 
Feb.  in  the  yere  of  Our  Lord  1613,  and  was  buried  ther,  whos  bones  Thomas 
Stradlinge,  Knight,  her  Sonne,  caused  to  be  taken  up  and  caryed  to  St. 
Donatts,  and  buried  in  the  Chauncell  of  the  Church  ther,  with  her  husband, 
the  8  day  of  Maye  in  the  yere  of  Our  Lord  1576  and  1536,  and  were  after- 
wards by  Edward  Stradlinge,  Knight,  the  5th  of  that  name,  her  nephew, 
translated  out  of  the  Chauncell  into  the  Chappell  ther  in  the  yere  of  Our 
Lord  1673." 

3. 

"  An'  aetatis  sve  Virtues  sole  Praise  Anno  aetatis 

67  incipiente.  Consisteth  in  doing.  sve  90. 

''  These  Pictures  do  represent  Sir  Edward  Stradlinge,  Knight,  the  5th  of 
that  name,  Sonne  to  Sir  Thomas  Stradlinge,  Knight,  and  Katerine  his  wife, 
to  Sir  Thomas  Gam  age  of  Coyty,  Knight,  and  the  Lady  Agnea  Stradlinge 
his  wife,  daughter  to  Sir  Edward  Gage  of  Sussex,  Knight,  and  Elisabeth  his 
wife,  daughter  to  John  Parker  of  Wellingeton  in  the  County  of  Sussex,  Es- 
quier ;  which  said  Edward  nowe  in  his  life  time  hath  set  forth  thes  monu- 
ments of  thes  his  Ancestors  Deceased,  and  by  Gods  grace  meaneth  both  he 

and  his  wife,  after  their  decease,  to  keep  them  Bodel mpany  in  this  sealf 

same  place. 

"Anno  Domini  1690." 


CAMBRIAN   ARCH^OLOGICAL   ASSOCIATION. 


COWBRIDGE   MEETING,  AUGUST  13-17,  1888. 

Reoeiptb. 

subscribers  to  local  fttnd. 

The  Right  Hon.  the  Earl  of  Dunraven  . 

The  Right  Hon.  Lord  Aberdare 

Colonel  Turberrill  .... 

W.  R.  B.  Bassett,  Esq.     .... 

G.  M.  Traherne,  Esq.       .... 

His  Worship  the  Mayor  of  Cowbridge  (Thos.  Rees,  Esq. 

Rev.  F.  F.  Edmondes       .... 

T.  M.  Franklen,  Esq.       .... 

Miss  Franklen      ..... 

0.  H.  Jones,  Esq.  .... 

The  Right  Hon.  Lord  Windsor  . 

The  Very  Rev.  the  Dean  of  Llandaff 

W.  H.  Evans,  Esq.  .... 

G.  W.  Nicholl,  Esq.  .... 

Rev.  E.  Jenkins  ..... 

Miss  Evans  ..... 

Carried  forward    £29    7    0 


£ 

8, 

d. 

.     5 

0 

0 

.     5 

0 

0 

.     6 

0 

0 

.     2 

2 

0 

.     2 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

.     0 

10 

0 

.     0 

10 

0 

434         CAMBRIAN  ARCH^OLOGICAL  ASSOCIATION-. 

£    s.  d. 

Brought  forward    29     7  O 
W.  T.  Gwjn,  Esq.                                     .     *        .            .     0  10  O 
C.  J.  Gwjn,  Esq.              .             .             .                         .     0  10  O 
Sums  of  5«  : — £1.  J.  Thomas,  Esq.;  Rev.  S.  Jones;  Mrs. 
Trevor  Tyler  ;  David  Wilks,  Esq.;  D.  Evans,  Esq.; 
D.  Jones,  Esq. ;  Iltjd  B.  Nicholl,  Esq. ;  Miss  Stock- 
wood  ;  Miss  Lucy  Stockwood  ;  Rev.  Canon  Allen  .     2  10  O 
Rev.  D.  Bowen    .            .                        .                        .026 


£32  19      6 


Expenditure. 

Daniel  Owen  and  Go.  for  printing  circulars        .  .     0  10     O 

Stationery  and  postage    .  .  .  .  .     \     0     B 

Advertisements  : — Western  Mail^  12«.  8(^.;  Central  Gla- 
morgan  Gazette^  14«.  2(^.;  8oMth  Wales  Daily  Newty 
8*.  4<;.  ,  .  .  .     1  15     2 

Telegrams  .  .010 

Extra  expenses  in  connection  with  luncheons  : — Mr. 
Perry,  Coyty,  £1  10#.;  Mr.  T.  Rees,  Llantwit  Major, 
£\\  waitress,  Ocean  House,  1^.  3{i. ;  ditto,  St. 
Fagans,  1«.  .  .  .  .     2  12     3 

Fees  for  holding  horses,  1^. ;  church  caretakers,  Llan- 
twit Major,  1«.  6e?.;  St.  Donates,  \$,  6d,      .  .040 
D.  Owen  and  Co.  for  printing  programmes         .  .    0  16     4 
Caretaker,  Town  Hall,  Cowbridge,  for  attendance  during 

the  week,  and  cleaning  the  Town  Hall  .10     0 

Gas,  Town  Hall,  Cowbridge,  Aug.  13-17  .15    0 

Turnpikes  .  .  .040 

Mr.  Thomas,  Bear  Hotel,  Cowbridge,  for  extra  wagon- 
ette and  brake  accommodation  for  representatives 
of  the  press  .  .360 

£12  14    2 
Balance  forwarded  to  the  Cambrian  Arch.  Assoc.  .  20    5    4 


Total        £32  19     6 

Examined  and  found  correct, 

Iltyd  B.  Nioholl,  Local  Hon,  Sec, 

16  October  1888. 


mm] 


435 


f'.*Tvii 


fif.ln 

[lia.i. 


it, 


ALPHABETICAL  INDEX  OF  CONTENTS. 


VOL.  V.    FIFTH    SERIES. 


Jli: 


0- 


Accounts,  statement  of,  1887, 82 
Annual  Report,  426 
Angle  Church,  122 
Archeoological  research,  local,  265 
Auriferous  wealth  of  Wales,  65 


Barrow,  Col  wins  ton,  83 

Barry,  discovery  of  human  re- 
mains at,  63 

Beaupre  House,  Old,  379 

Bioxam  (M.  H.),  obituary  notice 
of,  164 

Bosherston  Church,  124 


Caerwrgan,  Roman  station,.  413 
Capel  Garmon  sepulchral  cham- 
ber, 60 
Carausius,  coin  of  a  second,  138 
Cardiff  North  Gate,  273 
Celtic  weather  saint,  270 
Cerrig  y  Drudion  Register,  13 
Circutio,  Roman  station,  202 
Churchwardens'  books,  18 
Church  restoration,  271,  317 
Clocaenog  Register,  13 
Coity  Castle,  400 

Church,  399 

Colwiston  Barrow,  83 
Coy  church,  401 
Cowbridge  Church,  406 
Cromlech,  Coetan  Arthur,  58 

5th   8CR.,  VOL.  V. 


Cromlech,  St.  Nicholas,  421 

St.  Lythan's,  421 

Cronwrw  Church,  134 
Cross,  Jeffreston  Wayside,  58 
St.   Mary  Hill   Church- 
yard, 59 
Crosses,  weeping,  62,  367 
Cwmhir  Abbey,  204 


Denbigh  Castle,  94 
Derwen  Register,  16 


Effigy,  Nash  Church,  125 

Pwllcrochan,  127 

Eglwys  Fach  Church,  236 
Erbistock  Registers,  101 

Salusbnrys  of,  168 

Ewenny  Priory,  396 


r 

Fishguard  Church,  130 
Fonmon  Castle,  383 
Font,  Rudbaxton  Church,  132 
Upton  Church,  125 

Gilston  Church,  383 

Gollon  Manor,  204 

Gwynn  (Howel),  obituary  notice 

of,  57 
Gwenwynwyn's  charter  to  Strata 

Marcella,  207 

30 


436 


ALPHABETICAL  INDEX  OF  CONTENTS. 


Howard  of  Radbaxton,  133 


Inscribed  stone,  Llanio,  310 

Gwytberin,  177 

Pentrevoilas,  176 


Jeffreston  Gharch,  186 
Wayside  Cross,  58 


Llanasa  Register,  16 
Llancarvan  Chnroh,  386 
Llandaff  Cathedral,  257,  424 
Llandudno,  discovery  of  Roman 

coins,  370 
Llanelidan  Churcli,Denbiglishire, 

273 
Llanfair  Dyffryn  Clwyd  Register, 

14 
Llanfairfechan  sepalchral  cham- 
ber, 57,  168 

stone  hammer^  1 70 

Llangan  Chnrch,  404 
Llangerniew  incised  stones,  177 
Llanidloes  Church,  helmet,  171 
Llanio  inscribed  stones,  310 

Roman  station,  297 

Llanraihangel  Church,  409 

House,  407 

Llanrhaiadr  yn  Mochnant  Regis- 
ter, 17 
Llanrhidian  sepulchral  stone,  173 
Llantrithyd  Church,  388 
Llanycil  Register,  12 
Llantwit  Major  Church,  409 

sculptured  stones,  412 

Lawrenny  Church,  137 
Levelinus    Stone,    Pentrevoelas, 
176 


Mari  Lwyd,  389 
Marcross  Church,  418 
Military  defences,  mediaeval,  218 
Mortimer  (Ralph),  grant  to,  214 

(Roger),  215 

Mystery  plays,  264 


Nanteos  cup,  170 
Nantglyu  Register,  12 
Nash  Church,  125 
Newtown  Register,  14 


"  Ogham   Inscriptions",    by   Sir 
Samuel  Ferguson  (review),  251 


Pedigree,  Blodfol  (sic),  Croes  Os- 

wallt,  119 
Da  vies,      Rhiwlas      yn 

Nghynlleth,  49 

Dafydd  ap  William,  Bod- 


fach,  44 

Evans,  Dry  11  y  Pobydd, 


119 


113 


Evans,  Crukieth,  113 
Gethin,  1639,  Maesbrwc, 

Gruffydd,  Llanerch  Em- 
rys,  106 

Gruffydd  ap  Ienan,*Llan- 


gedwyn,  106 

Howel  ap  Gruffydd,  Cefn- 


hir,  Mochnant,  43 

-Jones,  1661,  Esgwennant, 


47 


49 


Jones,  1668,  Esgwennant, 

Kinaston,  Hordlai,  340 
Kynaston,  Elsmer  Watle, 

•  Kynaston,  Krikod,  340 
■  Korbet,  Mortyn  Korbet, 

Lloyd,  Dryll  y  Pobydd, 

.  Lloyd,  Ebnal,  332 

Lloyd,  Estyn,  331 

Lloyd,  Llwynymsien,  114 

Lloyd,  Rhiwlas  uwch  y 

Foel,  105 

Lloyd,  Ymwythig,  337 

Middleton,   Plasnewydd, 


337 


336 
118 


107 


110 


Middleton,   Gwaunynog, 


ALPHABETICAL  INDEX  OF  CONTENTS. 


437 


Pedigree,   Middleton,    Castell  y 

Waun,  111 
Mytton,  1646,  Yr  Hales- 

dan,  335 

Morris  (William),  Cefn  y 


Braich,  51 

Moris  ap  Meredydd,  Llo- 


ran  Uchaf,  45 

Nicholas  ap   Sion,   Llys 


Feissir,  118 

Owen  ap  Gruffydd,  Garth- 


eryr,  42 

Powell,    1646,    Park    y 


Drewen,  333 

Pugh,   Llwyn  Tudmon, 


117 

Sion  ap  leuan,  Llanged- 

wyn,  106 

Sion  Trevor  FychaUjCroes 


Oswallt,  120 

Thorns,  Shelfoe,  336 

Wynn,  Argoed,  117 

Wynn,  Celynog,  112 


Pennant  (Thomas)  at  Oxford,173 
Pentrevoelas  inscribed  stone,  1 76 
PwUcrochan  Church,  127 
Plas  lolyn,  269 


BawUns    (Richard),   Bishop    of 

St.  David's,  363 
Bhoscrowther  Chnrch,  128 

Pewter  chalice,  129 

Roman   coins,   discovery   of,   at 

Llandudno,  370 
lamp,  Stretton  Grandison, 

198 


345 


roads  in  Maelor  Saesneg, 

station  at  Circutio,  202 

at  Llanio,  297 

steelyard,  Stretton  Gran- 
dison, 198 

remains   at   Gaerwrgan, 


413 


St.  Athen's  Church,  382 

St  Bride's  Church,  395 

St.    David's,    Richard    Rawlins, 

Bishop  of,  363 
St.  Donat's  Castle,  417 

Church,  418  ;    Stradling 

Chapel  in,  432 
St.  Fagan's  Church,  422 

Manor  House,  423 

St  Hilary,  Church,  376 
St.  Lythan's  Church,  421 
St  Mary  Hill,  59,  403 
St.  Issel's  Church,  134 
St  Nicholas'  Church,  131 
St  Quentin's  Castle,  407 
Saliflburys  of  Erbistock,  168 
Sepulchral  chamber,  Capel  Gar- 
mon,  60 

Llanfairfechan,  57 

slab,  Llanrhidian,  173 

Stone    hammer,    Llanfairfechan, 

170 
Strata  Florida  Abbey,  172,  178, 

262,  430  . 
Strata  Marcella  Abbey,  206 
Stretton  Grandison,  Roman  steel- 
yard, 198 

lamp,  198 

Swansea  Place  House,  268 


Tomen  y  Mur,  267 


I 


Upton  Church,  125 


Valle  Crucis  Abbey,  370 
Vestry  Books,  22 


Weeping  crosses,  62,  367 
Wrexham,  history  of  (review),!  79 

records  of  Bailiwick  of, 

258 
Yspytty  Evan,  268 


438 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Remains  of  the  Hospital  of  the  Blessed  David,  Swansea 
Plan  showing  the  Position  of  the  Buildings  comprising  the 

Hospital  of  the  Blessed  David  as  existing  in  1332.    From 

existing  Remains 
Seal  of  the  Hospital  of  the  Blessed  David 
Plan  of  Ancient  British  Hat- Dwellings  on  the  Sonth  Slope  of 

Y  Foel  Caws,  near  Llanuwchllyn 
Emral  in  Maelor  Saesneg.     West  Front  . 
Sepulchral  Chamber  at  Tyn-y-Coed,  near  Capel  Garmon,  Den 

bighshire  .... 

Ditto.     View  looking  East 
Ditto.     View  looking  Sonth-East 
Ditto.     Plan  .... 

Cinerary  Urn  fonnd  in  a  Barrow  in  the  Parish  of  Colwinston 

Glamorganshire 
Churchyard  Cross  at  Bosherston,  Pembrokeshire     . 
Sepulchral  Effigy  of  a  Knight  in  Nash  Churchyard 
Font  in  Upton  Castle  Chapel    .  . . 

Stone  Candelabrum  in  Upton  Chapel 
Pewter  Chalice  found  at  Rhoscrowther  Church,  Pembrokeshire 
Font  in  Rndbaxton  Church,  Pembrokeshire 
Coin  of  a  Second  Carausins 

Inscriptions  on  Coin  and  Monument  of  Carausius    . 
Sepulchral  Slab  at  Penmachno,  Caernarvonshire 
Bronze  Vessel  fonnd  in  Llandevalley  Parish,  Brecknockshire 
Stone  Hammer  found  near  Llanfairfechan,  Carnarvonshire 
The  Nanteos  Cup      .... 
Helmet  in  Llanidloes  Church 
Llanrhidian  Church,  Gower 
Miniature  from  the  Book  of  Deer 
Pre-Norman  Sculptured  Stone  in  Llanrhidian  Church 
Thirteenth  Century  Gravestone  in  a  Garden  near  Llanrhidian 

Church  .... 

The  Levelinus  Stone  at  Pentre  Voelas,  Denbighshire 
Early  Inscribed  Stone  at  Gwytherin,  Denbighshire 
Stones  witb  Incised  Crosses  in  Llangerniew  Churchyard,  Den 

bighshire  .... 

Roman  Steelyard,  etc.,  found  at  Stretton  Grandison,  Hereford 

shire   ..... 
Amphitheatre  at  Tomen  y  Mur,  Merionethshire 
Place  House,  Swansea,  as  it  fronted  Temple  Street,  a.d.  1520 
Yspytty  Evan,  Caernarvonshire 
Plas  lolyn,  Denbighshire 


rAGK 


4 

8 

26 
29 

60 
60 
60 
60 

85 
124 
125 
126 
127 
129 
132 
138 
145 
146 
166 
170 
171 
172 
173 
174 
174 

175 
176 
177 

177 

187 
267 
268 
269 
270